Social Solitude
by Dextris
Summary: Sasuke works as a young laborer who enjoys his time alone. After taking a shortcut home, he finds a boy living in the woods whose behavior is more than odd. After confronting him, strange stuff begins to happen with his body. SasuNaru, NaruSasu.
1. Chapter 1

"Don't forget, I want you in early tomorrow, Sasuke." An old man said to his teenage employee. He had tannish skin and muscular arms that had been formed only from years of hard work outside. He had spent most of his life working the same job that Sasuke was now laboring for. The man had an odd pride for his job, not because he was helping the weaker people out, but because he had built his life out of it. Stocking wasn't something anyone would take pride in, most labor jobs aren't. Still, the old man enjoyed it. Now, he had aged and was no longer able to do the work he had enjoyed so much, his bones weak and stamina low, he could only sit back and watch how he had started out when he was around 17.

Sasuke was new to the team, packing and unpacking all of the shipment had been hard for his scrawny arms and legs, but after only a few months of day in and day out work, you could begin to notice the smooth detail of muscle along his biceps, forearms and calves. His pale skin was rather sensitive to the sun that beat down on him daily, leaving a seemingly perminant sunburn along his shoulders. Wearing a hat to keep the sun off of his face, he had managed to cover up his burnt skin by simply wearing a longer sleeved shirt. His boss had taken a found liking to him when he began working, mainly because he did what he was told and harldy ever spoke. He never complained about the few shortages he had recieved in his pay check and was always there at work, and on time. For Sasuke, money was money. Doing whatever he could to scrounge around for some extra cash, he had stumbled upon this job. At first he wasn't sure about working, due to his frail appearnce, but when he found out he'd be making almost triple than what he was at his old job, he couldn't pass it up.

Sasuke nodded to his boss and stepped out of the shop. He let out a tired sigh and began walking back towards his home. The walk had always seemed further going back to him, mainly because he had nothing to keep him occupied. Not that he minded the walk though. He rather enjoyed walking through his village and seeing all of the old places he used to go to when he was younger. Lately, his mind had been fixed at a certain place in the village. He had barely caught it the last time he was walking home and was confident that he would at least get a glimpse at his recent obbsession. Sasuke stared upward at the high buildings, past towards the sky, eyeing the white clouds in the sky. He exhaled a small breath of air and watched as a group of birds had whisped by. Sasuke would normally be in a sea of people on his walk home if he had taken the shorter way home, but after being too annoyed by all of the anonymous voices, he decided he'd take the longer, quieter way home. It was about a week ago tht he did, and the peacefulness wasn't what kept him on this trail. It was that moment when he could get a glimpse at his only enjoyment that made him stay on this trail. Sasuke walked through the thick forest, knowing the trail better probably than the person that owned it. His eyes scanned forward, looking for the stranded house down by the crystal, blue water. The lake had already come into view, dissapearing behind the thick trees moments later. He ran his thumb against his fingers inside his pockets, hoping he'd be out.

Sasuke soon found himself standing just outside of the brown house he had been looking for. His eyes darted towards the lake behind the house, looking for him. His body came to a calm when his eyes met the tan body of a boy about his age. His blonde hair shined brightly in the sun. From where Sasuke was standing, he could see the detail in his smooth, round like face, his blue eyes complimenting all of his features. He was a little on the short side and seemed to enjoy just being outside, always throwing rocks into the lake whenever Sasuke caught sight of him.

Sasuke swallowed a lump in his throat, wishing he had it in him to walk up to the boy and ask him at least his name, but how would he explain himself? He thought that it would be hard to believe if he told him he had just went this way to get away from all of the people, let alone why he was always there everyday watching him. Although Sasuke was almost positive that the blonde hadn't asked noticed him yet. Sasuke was trying to tell himself to leave, he was pretty sure that if the blonde didn't notice, then someone inside the house must have, since he stood outside the window everyday. He didn't want to come off as a creep, but he didn't want to forget what the kid looked liked, afraid that one day he'd walk by and the boy wouldn't be out there.

The main thing that drew Sasuke to this boy so much, wasn't the way he looked, but the emotion his face held. Sasuke recognized it right away, knowing just by the down look the blue eyes had, that the kid was lonely. Sasuke knew the feeling way too well, losing his family so long ago, he had spent most of his life by himself. For some odd reason, Sasuke felt like he _had_ to talk to this kid, he felt like it was up to him to take away that sad look plastered on the kids face. He stood longer, taking in the detail of the boy, before telling himself one more second.

The blonde seemed to feel the eyes on him and turned his gaze to the raeven haired boy watching him. Their eyes met and for a split moment they seemed to shout out to one another. Sasuke stepped back away from the trees and out of view, he barely found it in himself to keep from bolting out of there, but he knew that he'd only come off as even more suspicous if he did that. At least now he could tell them he'd just been walking by when he thought he saw someone down there and went to look, if he asked. Sasuke swallowed the lump in his throat and began walking back home. He already began to debate with himself whether or not to take this way in the morning. Sasuke wanted to look back towards the lake, but was afraid that he'd be met by those lonely eyes again. He began to turn his head, but quickly snapped it forward, deciding agianst it. His eyes darted down to the ground, focusing on the dirt beneath him. He just wanted to get home now.


	2. Chapter 2

Sasuke rubbed his eye, walking back into the path he had taken yesterday. He figured, that even if someone inside the house had noticed him there, they wouldn't be up at this time of hour. Although, he wasn't quite sure why he took this way in the morning when no one was ever out and it could be rather dark when he had to go in for work so early. Sasuke most hust have grown customed to the forest already. He didn't mind the dark either, it always seemed to show the real color of things, in his opinion.

He stretched out his arms and yawned, trying to get ready for the hard work up ahead. Sasuke turned down the path that was taking him towards the small wooden house up ahead, bringing it into view with each step. It wasn't until he was almost walking towards the house along the path that curved up to it that he saw the blonde sitting out on the porch, staring forward at the dirt path. He immediately froze in his tracks, his heart rising in his chest. The blonde was waiting, waiting to confront him for yesterday. Sasuke went to pull out his phone from his pocket, only to find it not there. He srcunched his eyebrows. He never forgot his phone. Now that he thought about it, he didn't ever remember having it when he got home yesterday either. Sasuke stared forward, his palms begining to sweat. He had no means of time on him so he couldn't check to see if he could take the other way without being late. He sighed, knowing that he was going to walk down the path, he was too close to a raise to start showing up late.

Sasuke finally managed to bring himself forward, taking long steps towards the front of the house. The blonde immdiatley caught sight of the pale boy and stared quietly at him, watching as he began to walk by. Sasuke felt his eyes on him, waiting for the confrontation. Although, he didn't know why he was worrying, he could say what he thought of yesterday. Once Sasuke was positive that there would be no means of socializing, the voice called out to him.

"H-Hi." Sasuke stopped. The greeting had been said so quickly and barely loud enough that he thought he had imagined it. But when Sasuke turned around to face the blonde, he saw that he had his hands over his mouth, looking like a little kid that had said a word they shouldn't have. The boy was biting his lip under Sasuke's noticable gaze. He pulled his hands away from his mouth and began twisting his fingers nervously. Sasuke cocked his head at the odd behavior. He licked his lips before replying.

"Hey." He said, turning around fully and walking towards the blonde. The boy looked down as Sasuke approached and then reached into his pocket. He pulled out something silver and held it towards Sasuke.

"Y-you dropped this yesterday...I was going to try and give it back, but you were gone by the time I found it." Sasuke looked down to find his phone in the kids hands. He reached out to grab it, noticing the boy flinch slightly at the slight contact. Sasuke raised his eyebrow, wondering what was wrong with this kid. First, he waits for the guy that had been spying on him the past week, at four in the morning, then he calls him over to give his _phone_ back? How stupid could he be? If Sasuke had been a real stalker, this kid could've been in some real trouble. "I-I'm sorry...I haven't seen someone else in so long..." he said looking up at Sasuke.

Sasuke looked down at his phone and then to the kid. "How long could it be for you to jump like that when someone touches you?" He said, meaning it as a joke.

"15 years." The kid said bluntly.

Sasuke blinked. Then blinked again. Then he shook his head as if he had misheard. "I'm sorry, did you say _years?_ 15 _ years?_" The blonde nodded. Sasuke couldn't believe what the kid said. "Haven't you ever left your house?" Sasuke asked.

The kid shook his head. "No. I'm not aloud to. They said that I can't talk to people."

Sasuke scrunched his eyebrows together. "They?"

"Yeah, they. They told me that I'll hurt the people if I start talking to them...but..." The blonde locked eyes with Sasuke. "I haven't hurt you yet though...." Sasuke looked down at his phone again and looked at the time. He'd need to leave now if he planned on making it to his work in time. He bit his lip thinking. This kid was too interesting to leave so soon and Sasuke still had his sick days left at work.

He flipped his phone open and speed dialed his work number. Sasuke wasn't exactly sure about how his boss would react calling in sick, sure he liked him, being a hard worker and all, but he was still the newest worker there so it might look bad. His boss picked up the phone with a groggy 'hello'. Sasuke swallowed thickly, then pinched his nose slightly to try and make himself sound sick. "Hey...would today be the wrong day to be sick?" Sasuke said, wording it carefully. His boss was quiet for a moment.

"You got sick?" He asked showing no hint to what Sasuke should say next.

He sniffled his nose to try and add to the effect. "If it's busy I can still come in, I just don't know how much help I'll be..."

His boss sighed. "Nah, we'll be good without you for a day. It will only be a day, right?"

"I hope so, I don't want to be sick any longer than that." Sasuke said.

His boss chuckled slightly. "Alright, If you do decide to come in tomorrow, it'll be at the normal time, got that?"

Sasuke nodded as if he could see. He barely caught the kid staring at him in an intrigued manner. "'Kay, I should be there." With that, he hung up and then turned back to the kid. He couldn't really believe that he just called in, pretending to be sick so he could spend time with this kid. The kid smiled up at him. "So, ugh, What's your name?" Sasuke asked.

The blonde looked up in thought. "I'm...not sure... It's on my necklace." He began digging down the front of his shirt until he found the metal he was looking for. He pulled it off from around his neck and handed it to Sasuke. Sasuke took it and stared down at the dog tags that were in his hands.

"Na..ruto? Fishcake? What kind of name is that?" Sasuke teased.

Naruto looked down feeling embarrassed. "They told me I had to wear that no matter what, and I can only take it off at certain times. They never really told me my name, just put it on there. Does it really mean fishcake?" He asked taking the tags back from Sasuke and returning it to his neck.

Sasuke looked at him. Someone had been treating Naruto almost exactly like a dog. "Yeah, but don't feel bad. My last name means 'paper fan'"

Naruto smiled immdiately, not out of laughter from his name, but of the nice treatment he was receiving. "So what's your name then?"

"Sasuke...Uchiha's my last name." He told him, taking a seat next to him on the porch. "You keep saying 'they'." Sasuke said with curiosity. "Who exactly is 'they'?"

Naruto shrugged. "I dunno, the last time I saw them was when I was two. They send me things through the mail box though. Like food, and water, and they let me know whenever a year passes by."

"You mean they just lock you up in this house and leave you here?" Sasuke said shocked at his living conditions.

"Yeah...Don't....they do that...with you?" Naruto asked growing confused. Sasuke shook his head. "They told me that everyone lives the same way I do."

"Well 'they' are lying. I know I sure as hell don't get food sent to me through the mail." Sasuke stated.

"But, then....How do you get food?"

"I go out and buy it."

"Buy?" Naruto cocked his head to the side, eyebrow raised. Sasuke stared at him, at first thinking he was going to laugh and say he was joking, and that he wasn't _that_ cut off from life. But his eyes still held tight to the question. Sasuke let out an exasperated sigh. It was terrible how much he didn't seem to know.

"You know, when you give someone money and they give you your food?"

"Mon....ey? Why do you have to give them 'money'?"

"So they'll give you your food. It's like trading." Sasuke tried to explain. He looked over at Naruto to find confusion on his face. "You..._Do_ know what trading is, right?" Naruto blinked, shaking his head slowly. Sasuke ran his hand through his hair. "Its when you give someone something and they give you something back."

"People give eachother things?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke dropped his head slightly. He had never expected the kid to be like this. Sasuke's eyes landed on two twiggs on the ground. He bent down and picked them up. "Here we go." He handed one to Naruto. He took it staring at it confused. "Pretend that that's food, and this," Sasuke held up his stick. "Is money. Now, I'm hungry but I don't have any food. I decide to go out and buy some. I see you with your food and decide to buy it. So you take this," Sasuke handed his stick to Naruto and then reached out for Naruto's . "And then you give me yours. So I just bought your food. Get it?"

Naruto twirled the stick in his hands and then brought it to his mouth. Sasuke watched him as he attempted to eat the stick. He raised his eyebrow, and then reached out and pulled the stick away from him. Naruto jumped once again at the slight touch and looked up at Sasuke. Sasuke took both sticks and threw them into the dirt. "I said _pretend_ it's food, that doesn't mean eat it. Besides, you'd have the money at the end, so you shouldn't be eating it anyways."

"Money isn't food?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke opened his mouth and then shut it. He just got himself into a real mess, talking to this kid. "No, its not, its a means of trade. Like I just showed you."

Naruto seemed to be finally understanding things a bit. "So, if I wanted an apple, I'd give you money and you'd give me an apple?"

Sasuke nodded, thankful he was starting to get it. "Yeah, I'm surprised you knew what apples were." He joked.

Naruto nodded. "I know what apples are, and what water is and bread too. And sometimes, when something 'speacial' happens I get milk and even ham. I love the ham the most..." Naruto continued to rant on about the food he recieved from 'they' all while Sasuke's eyes searched the area. He was begining to feel like he was being watched, like someone was about to jump out and attack him. "...but I don't really understand what the 'speacial' days are. They just told me its the days where everyone gets a little extra. I forgot what they called it, but it only happens once a year..."

"New years? " Sasuke suggested.

Naruto blinked. "Hn? New...years...?"

"Is that what they called it? The 'special' occasion?" Sasuke asked. Naruto didn't seem to recognize the term.

"Do you get a little extra on New Years? Maybe, that's what they meant to say...I don't remember, they told me it a long time ago and then sent me the food when it came."

Sasuke rested his head on his hand as he watched Naruto ponder about it all. "I don't lke these 'they' people. They're treating you like you're some kind of freak."

Naruto seemed to flinch with the term. His eyes immdiately fell to the ground. "...but...they said I was.." Naruto mummbled. Sasuke seemed taken aback by the statement.

"What? They tell you that you're a freak and then lock you up away from society?" Sasuke summarized. Naruto shrugged like it didn't matter. Sasuke seemed disgusted by it all. "That's just sick. It's illegal to do something like this y'know..."

Naruto blinked confused. "But they're pretty nice, I mean, they let me live here and give me food and water and sometimes books that I get to re-"

"You're only saying that because you don't know what it's like to live free. Trust me, the way you're living is not anywhere close to the way normal people live."

Naruto had a sadden look on his face. "...but they said that I wasn't normal...They said that I'd just hurt everyone if they let me try to live with society..."

Sasuke bit his cheek. "Naruto...That can't be true...I'm not sure who locked you up like this, but..." Sasuke trailed off, almost afraid of what he was going to say. "You can come with me."

Naruto looked scared by Sasuke's offer. He began to stand up and step backwards. "I-I I can't do that! T-They'll look for me a-and then they'll hurt..they'll hurt..."

Sasuke's eyes widened a bit. This kid was really terrified to leave his house. 'They' had him so well trained that he couldn't even think for himself. Everything was all 'they said', 'they did', and 'they won't' Sasuke stood up and grabbed Naruto by the shoulders. "They can't hurt you if you're with me." Naruto shook his head.

"No, they won't hurt me." He tried to pull out of Sasuke's grasp but couldn't. "They'll try to hurt you. They told me that anyone that talks with me should forget they ever existed. That's a bad thing, right? To forget your existence?"

Sasuke locked eyes with Naruto, not quite able to take in what he had just said. He shook his head. What was he worriying about? Once he could get Naruto out of here and back to his home, he could always call the police and tell what was going on if someone really was after him. All he had to do was call them now and they'd already be looking for whoever had Naruto locked up like animal. He shook the small fear out of his body and regained his confidence. "No, they won't. I won't let them touch me, or you for that matter. You've got to get out of here, you're missing out on so many things by keeping yourself here. There's so much better food out there for you to taste and people to meet, and just the look of everything. Naruto, please, just come with me, I'll show you how much better everything can be."

Naruto seemed almost convinced to go, but he shook his head. "No, No, I can't. Sasuke, you've got to leave. I shouldn't of ever talked to you in the first place..."

"So why did you?" Sasuke threw at him.

Naruto bit his lip. "...I...I couldn't take it...I knew you were here watching me before, and at first it scared me, but then I realized, you just wanted to talk...I even used to watch you when you would walk through here in the mornings. I'd wake up extra early just to make sure I could see you but today...I just had to say something...I haven't seen anyone in so long, it killed me whenever you walked by and I didn't say anything." Naruto looked up at Sasuke and smiled slightly. "That and I just wanted to know what your voice sounded like. And to see if you had a name like me too." Sasuke's gripped loosened a bit, until he let his arms drop to his sides. It all sounded so...sad. Pathetic. How could anyone be forced to think that only certain people would have names, or even existed for that matter? Then, ontop of it, make the kid believe that everyone lived the same way he had been living for the past fiffteen years.

Fiffteen years...Sasuke thought about it a moment. He said he had last seen 'they' when he was two, meaning that he had to be 17. So for 15 years he had been all by himself, not having a single person to talk to. Sasuke felt sorry for Naruto, he wanted to help him, but it seemed the only way he could would be to take him home, away from this place at least. If Naruto lived here by himself, then it'd be sometime before 'they' would find out that he was gone. By then Sasuke would tell the police about it all and they'd have the house restricted and hopefully would figure out who 'they' were. Sasuke looked into Naruto's lonely eyes. Naruto wasn't going to leave here without an okay from whoever it was that kept him here.

"Everyone's got a name Naruto. And everyone knows that too, You've been locked up here for too long, you don't even know the basic things of life..." Naruto stared down at the ground. Sasuke had to try and find a way to convince him to go. He bit his lip and then looked around him. "Haven't you ever wonder what else was out there?" Naruto's eyes shot up to Sasuke. He hit the exact point he needed to. "Haven't you ever wondered if there was someone else out there that looked like you? Or acted like you? Or maybe even shared your thoughts? Haven't you ever wondered what else was past those trees?"

"...yes..." Naruto mummbled, his curiosity begining to gain control over him. His eyes went towards the lake he had stood at every day. He had wanted to know so badly what was on the other side of it. Sometimes he swore he saw someone standing at the other side, throwing something into the large lake. He wanted to know so badly if there was someone else out there, or if 'they' were the only other ones besides him. When he first saw Sasuke, he was frightened. He didn't have a clue he was standing there until he saw the reflection in the water, but when he did, he could barely move. He thought it was one of 'them' coming to punish him for something he had done, but Naruto had never seen anyone like him. He never knew that there was someone out there that could have black hair, or that it could grow in such an odd way. He never knew that someone could be as skinny looking as him or as tall and pale either. But after a few days of seeing him, Naruto became more nervous than anything. He actually liked the way the boy looked. He liked the masculine jaw line Sasuke had and the soft, smooth looking pale skin he had too. After sometime Naruto got to thinking what his name may have been, if he had one. Or what his voice sounded like, or how his 'they' people treated him. Or where it was he was going everyday when he passed by his house all the time.

Naruto looked back to Sasuke, seeming to debate with himself whether or not he should go. Sasuke's dark eyes seemed to make his decision even harder, he knew he shouldn't leave, but he wanted to so badly, and as long as he was with Sasuke, he'd be okay. Naruto closed his eyes thinking, then after a moment opened them again. "I do, I do want to know what everything's like, but I can't stay with you...C-could you just...take me there for a day?" Naruto asked. That way, he wouldn't be disobeying 'them' too badly. He'd be gone for a couple of hours and then come back home, and not let Sasuke talk him otherwise.

Sasuke smiled. "I can't possibly show you it all in one day, but I'll take you around the village for today, and then show you more some other time, how's that sound?"

Naruto didn't like the fact that he'd leave for more than one day, but there wasn't much he could do. He looked back at Sasuke and nodded. "O-okay..." Sasuke stepped off of the porch and began walking onto the path. He turned around to find Naruto staring uneasily up ahead at the path. "C'mon Naruto." Naruto's eyes went back to Sasuke and he took his first step onto the dirt path, standing next to him. He swallowed hard before he let Sasuke lead him through the forest.

A couple of times, Naruto had almost turned around and bolted back, but Sasuke held his arm firmly making sure that he wouldn't be going anywhere other than where Sasuke was going. Naruto's eyes wandered around at every changing detail. He wasn't sure what to expect when Sasuke said that they were just about at the village. Sasuke's hand had an odd comfort to Naruto, calming him down when he felt that fear begin to surface. The trees began to thin and a clearer dirt path had been made. Fences boredered the outside of the forest, signifing the start of the village. Naruto's heart jumped into his throat. He could already hear thousands of voices chattering. They stepped out of the village and Naruto nearly ran back. His knees were shaking and the only thing holding him in place was Sasuke's strong arms. His eyes scanned the buildings and the people and the wires that ran throughout it. He didn't know what to think. He didn't know that it was even real to him for that matter. His eyes continued to stare absently at the small spot that they were in. Sasuke smiled at his reaction to everything. He started to wonder how Naruto would react to some of the food they had here. Naruto could barely tear his gaze away from the scene. His eyes locked with Sasuke's. "T-they're this many people here? I thought that there would only be a few..." Naruto said in a daze.

Sasuke chuckled. "Oh they're so many more people out there than this. This is only a small bit of them."

"Only...a small...." Naruto trailed off looking at all of the buildings. He suddenly realized that he was gripping onto Sasuke's arms, barely able to keep himself standing. He tried to let go, but his body wouldn't listen to him. Instead, he ended up squeezing harder. This was crazy. Naruto never in a million years would've guessed the outside world to look like this. Sasuke tried to push him further, to encourage him to move forward. He barely got Naruto to take a step. After realizing that there was pressure pushing against him, Naruto immdiately released the weight he had put down on his feet, causing Sasuke to fall forward into Naruto. Naruto blushed, embarrassed for the way he was behaving, but he couldn't help it this was all too crazy for him. Sasuke smiled at Naruto and again pushed him forward slightly. "Where are we going now?" He asked.

Sasuke looked around and then shrugged. This was all boring to him, he'd been just about everywhere in the village over a hundred times so this was all the same to him. Nothing really caught his attention like it may have for Naruto. He bit his lip and then thought about how Naruto had mentioned reading books. He turned to Naruto and smiled. "We'll go to the bookstore."

Naruto blinked. "They have a book store?" He asked before Sasuke grabbed onto his wrist and dragged him towards it.


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto was shuffling through book after book, amazed at the selection they had to offer. He had only received books about animals from 'they'. He had no idea that there were books about other things. Sasuke was looking at some books himself when Naruto found himself in the magazine area. He looked at the covers and flipped through some of them. A certain magazine caught his attention. He pulled it off the shelf and scrunched his eyebrows together. "Hey Sasuke...?" Sasuke was reading the summary of a book, and simply responded with a 'hm'. "What's a 'sexual intercourse'?" Sasuke dropped the book in his hand and jumped when it thudded against the ground. He bit his lip and then bent over to pick it up. He set it back and then turned to Naruto.

"Did you just ask me what _sex_ was?" Sasuke asked, hoping he had misheard.

"No, I asked what sexual inte-"

"It's sex. That's all. Just a more appropriate term for it." He walked over to Naruto and took the magazine out of his hands. He looked down at the cover to find a girl in a bikini sprawled out across a beach towel with the caption 'How To Have Sexual Intercourse With The Man Of Your Dreams' Sasuke blushed slightly and returned the magazine to the rack. Naruto raised an eyebrow, still confused.

"Okay...so what's se-"

"We'll talk about that some other time." Sasuke said grabbing his wrist again and walking out the door. Naruto seemed even more confused by the way Sasuke had reacted to his question.

"Why're you getting all embarrassed about it? Is sex a bad thing?"

Sasuke looked back at him, wishing he'd just drop it. "It can be. And I'm not embarrassed about it."

"Then tell me what it is." Naruto pushed.

"I told you, some other time."

"But I want to know what it is n-"

"Some other time!"

"Why can't you just tell me-"

Sasuke spun around, annoyed with his constant nagging. "Alright!" Naruto bit his cheek waiting for Sasuke to explain. Sasuke thought about how to word it. He didn't want to say anthing more than he needed to. "...Y'know those times when you get that hot feeling and everything seems to look all really...pretty?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Summer time?" He responded.

Sasuke slapped a hand to his head. "Okay, forget that." Naruto cocked his head slightly. "It's when you take that thing in your pants and put in the thing in the girls pants. Okay?"

Naruto thought about it a minute. "But where do you put it if they-"

"They don't have the same thing you have in your pants. I'll show you what I mean if we stop by my house." Sasuke said. He then blushed realizing just how that could've been taken. He hoped Naruto hadn't thought of it the way Sasuke just had. Naruto bit his lip, confused by what Sasuke had meant. He decided not to ask about it and followed Sasuke towards where ever it was that they were going to next. Sasuke pulled out his phone and checked the time. It was barely even seven a clock. He looked over at Naruto and sighed. "We should go back to my place now and wait for all of the stores to open."

"You mean they're not open right now?" Naruto asked. Sasuke shook his head.

"Well some of them are, but the better ones don't open up untill around noon." Sasuke scratched the back of his head and returned his phone to his pocket. "C'mon. We'll come back out here in a few more hours. Untill then, we can just...sleep or something."

"You said you'd show me what sex is." Naruto reminded him.

Sasuke sighed. "Alright, let's get home." A small blush had formed on his face once again.

Sasuke dug into the old box of movies he had never bothered to unload when he first moved here. "I know I should have one..." Sasuke tossed aside movie after movie before he retrieved the one he was looking for. "Here we go."

Naruto was sitting on the bed looking around at the plain and open apartment they were in. "...So, this place has a bunch of rooms in it and different people live in each one?"

Sasuke nodded taking the movie with him to the VCR he had hooked up to his tv. "This should answer your question..." He said with a sigh as he popped the movie in.

Naruto looked at the cover. "'Night at the Doctor's Office?' What does this have to do about sex?"

Sasuke sighed and jumped onto the large bed next to Naruto. "Just watch it." He said as he buried his face into the pillow, trying to catch up on sleep. "Wake me up when it stops."

Naruto raised an eyebrow and then turned to the screen to see a woman with enormous breasts and a man with a well-built body dressed as a doctor. He cocked his head slightly at the odd behavior.

Sasuke managed to drift off to sleep almost immdiately, the blackness that filled his sight taking his coinsciousness with it."...uke..." His mind heard barely. "sa...ke..." Sasuke shifted slightly in his sleep, "SASUKE!" Naruto screamed. Sasuke jumped up immdiately, almost slamming heads with Naruto. He rubbed his eyes.

"W-what? What happened?" Naruto looked scared out of his mind.

"Sasuke, I don't like sex, It's scary." Naruto mummbled. Sasuke looked at the screen to see the porno still playing. He sighed and then stood up and turned it off.

"You asked."

Naruto shifted a bit. "I-I didn't know it was like that! And why was she screaming?! Didn't that hurt!?"

Sasuke threw the movie into the box. "I dunno, she probably liked it. It's sex after all."

"...Is sex supposed to feel good?"

"I don't think everyone would be doing it if it wasn't." Sasuke commented.

Naruto bit his lip. "D-does that mean that you have sex?"

Sasuke's face immdiately flushed. The last thing he wanted to tell Naruto was the fact that he was still a virgin. He looked over at Naruto. Then again, Naruto had to be one too if he didn't even know what it was. Sasuke opened his mouth to talk but shut it. He looked back at the tv screen trying to think which answer would lead to less questions. "Umm...W-well, I mean, not _everyone_ does it..." Naruto remained quiet. "N-no. I don't."

"Oh...okay." Naruto looked down and began to fidget with the sheets. Sasuke chuckled.

"You say that like you're dissapointed."

"Hn?" Naruto looked up at Sasuke. "N-no, it's just, I was gonna ask you a buncha things if you did, but you don't...You're like me."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Hm?" He asked, confused by his last statement. "I'm like you?" Naruto nodded. "How so?"

"Well...I noticed when we were walking through the....vil..lage.." Naruto struggled with the word. "I just noticed that everyone was with someone else. I didn't ever see anyone by themselves. Even in the houses, there were a bunch of people inside, but when we got here, it was just you. You live by yourself, just like I do." Sasuke opened his mouth to talk, but Naruto had more to say. "And you just wanted to get home, because you feel safest here right?" Sasuke remained silent. "I never liked going outside before because it was the only place where I felt safe. But going outside just a little bit, I eventually just felt safe being at my home..."

"Hn..." Was all Sasuke could say. He would've never thought of things like that. Naruto really was a unique kind of person. Sasuke looked over at the clock. His nap had only killed about an hour of the day. He sighed, turning to Naruto. "You tired?" Naruto looked up at Sasuke and had to think about it. Waking up so early all the time to catch a glimpse of Sasuke had left a feeling of drowsiness. He nodded. Sasuke craned his back and pulled out a pillow from under the blanket and then pulled the blanket off slightly. "Then lay down for a few. If you're cold, you can just use the blanket, I don't mind." Sasuke said pulling the blanket over his own body. Naruto watched before he layed his body against the bed. He let a out a pleased sigh.

"Wow...This feels nice..." Naruto said, pulling the blanket over himself. "My beds nothing like this..."

"What'd they do, throw a box with a buncha newspaper in a corner and call it a bed?" Sasuke said sarcasticly.

"Kinda. Except they used actual sheets instead of newspaper..." Naruto mummbled closing his eyes.

Sasuke stayed quiet. He really needed to watch what he said around him. He didn't know if he'd be able to listen to some of the other things they did to Naruto. "I'm sorry..."He mummbled, but it went unheard. Naruto had already been claimed by the slumber. Sasuke shifted a bit before closing his eyes and drifting off back to sleep.

It wasn't until four hours later that Sasuke woke up. He stretched out his legs, forgetting about the body that layed beside him. Sasuke immdiately pulled his legs up to his body, hoping he didn't wake him. He quietly sat up and got out of bed, Naruto's deep sleep heard through the heavy breaths he was taking. Sasuke looked over at him, finding the noise he was making to be a bit, odd. Naruto was curled up in a ball with his hands under his cheek and his knees pulled up to his chin while he continued to let out almost a growl sound. Sasuke leaned over the bed to see if there was something wrong. Sasuke shrugged, then felt a sharp, stinging pain run down his back. He gasped slightly, shocked by the sudden pain. When did he ever hurt his back? Sasuke stuck his hand down the collar of his shirt and felt around on his back. The tingiling pain got stronger and stronger as he felt towards his mid back. Unable to reach that far from the top, Sasuke decided to go in from the bottom. He felt around the spot he left off and immdiately jumped at the looked over at Naruto and then down the hall.

Sasuke pulled off his shirt and stood in front of the bathroom mirror. He craned his neck to try and see what was causing all of the pain, but had a hard time seeing. Sasuke bent in an odd way to get a better look at his back. His eyes widened a bit when they found the thick, almost cat like scratch that ran down his mid-back to his tail bone. "What in the hell...?" Sasuke asked himself as he touched the wound with his finger. "When the fuck did I get this?" He said to himself again. His muscle tightened with the contact, sending the tingiling pain up Sasuke's spine. He winced, pulling his hand away.

Sasuke stared at the odd mark a moment longer before going to check up on Naruto. When Sasuke stepped out into the what-was-supposed-to-be-living-room-but-was-really-his-bedroom, he looked over at his bed and saw Naruto sitting up and rubbing his eye. Naruto yawned before turning to see Sasuke shirtless and staring at him. He immdiately felt as if something was wrong. "Morning." Sasuke greeted, standing in place.

"Umm....After..noon...?" Naruto responded confused.

Sasuke sighed. "_Good_ Morning...People say that when you wake up. It's a kind of greeting..." Sasuke looked over at the clock. "Though, I guess it would be considered good noon..."

"Oh..." Naruto pulled the blanket away from him. "Then, Good Noon."

Sasuke laughed, shaking his head. He decided not to correct him. Naruto looked up at Sasuke, his eyes falling on Sasuke's nice masculine stomach. It was just the right amount of muscle for Sasuke, giving his body a nice curve. Naruto's eyes trailed down Sasuke's stomach, having an urge to run his nails along his soft and delicate looking flesh. Naruto felt his face flush, before he turned away.

Sasuke had been thinking about something keeping him from noticing Naruto staring at him. He took a shirt out of the drawer he had beside him and put it on before Naruto could notice the thick scratch that ran down his back. Sasuke felt the cloth land lightly against the wound, yet it still managed to send that tickiling pain up his spine. He clenched his jaw tight before turning over to Naruto. "Hey, You hungry?" He asked, ignoring the pain.

Naruto thought a minute and then nodded. He went without breakfeast today and it was already almost one. Sasuke smiled then grabbed his wallet. "Well, then come one. We'll go and buy something."

Naruto stood up from the bed. "We're gonna do that trading stuff?" Sasuke nodded. Naruto's face beamed. Ever since Sasuke had mentioned it, Naruto had wanted to see what he had meant by buying. Sasuke watched as Naruto had already awakened and was ready to leave. He looked for his cheap slip on shoes and then immdiately put them on once he found them. Sasuke smiled when Naruto looked at him expecting to leave. It was good that Naruto wasn't worrying anymore about those 'they' people.

Sasuke grabbed his house keys and then stepped out the door with Naruto. He locked it and then the two of them headed down the stairs together. Naruto was again looking at all of the different things from the texture of the wall to the width of the hallways. Sasuke stared down at the steps as he walked, hoping he'd have enough money to pay for the two of them to eat out. Sasuke began to calculate in his head while Naruto ran his hand along the railing that followed with the stairs, feeling all of the different textures. They stepped out into the village again and found the streets even more crowded than earlier. Naruto's mouth hung open at the amount of people walking the streets now. He looked at all of the different faces and different skin and different hair, and sizes. His heart jumped a little everytime he saw a different person. Sasuke smiled. "See? They're other people than just you."

Naruto turned and locked eyes with Sasuke. "Sasuke, this is...amazing..." Sasuke scratched his head in a timid manner and then grabbed Naruto's arm.

"C'mon. You said you were hungry. I know the perfect place to go." Naruto smiled as Sasuke dragged him through the mass of people.

"You like it?" Sasuke said with a laugh as he watched Naruto devour his bowl of ramen. Naruto didn't even turn away from the food, or stop eating for that matter, he just nodded while shoving another mouthful of noddles past his lips. Sasuke turned back to his bowl and wrapped his chopsticks with the hot noodles, then pulled a decent amount from the bowl and ate it. Naruto went to dig for more, but was soon dissapointed when he found his bowl empty. "Oh..."He murmured before setting it down in front of him with the chopsticks on top.

Sasuke looked over and saw the dissapointment in his face that made him look just too cute to refuse anything. He immdiately wanted to offer him his bowl. Sasuke turned back to his food and blushed. He couldn't believe he just found him cute. He looked back at him from the corner of his eyes to find him running his finger along the edge of the bar. Again, Naruto was taking in every single detail that his eyes had never seen before. Sasuke set his chopsticks down and faced Naruto. "Did you want more?"

Naruto blinked. "You can get more?" He asked. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Of course you can, you think they're gonna turn down another five bucks because you already had one?" Naruto shrugged.

"I just thought that once it's gone, it's gone." Naruto scratched the side of his face sheepishly.

Sasuke shook his head and then turned to the cook. "Can we get another bowl?" The cook nodded and went on his way to prepare a second serving. Naruto smiled and went back to admiring his surroundings. Sasuke started eating again before he was distracted by a friendly voice.

"Sasuke!!!" A female's voice chimmed. Sasuke turned his head slightly to see one of his not-so-much-a-friend friend skipping towards him. He set his bowl down as she approached. "I thought that was you! What're you doing here?" The pink haired girl asked.

Sasuke shrugged. "Just eatin'."

The girl giggled. "Well, duh! I mean, shouldn't you be at work?" She asked leaning in towards Sasuke with her hands laced together behind her back.

Sasuke blinked. "Oh, right. I took the day off. I wasn't feeling good earlier, but it passed after I took a nap." Sasuke fibbed. "Speaking of work, shouldn't you be doing that stupid volunteer stuff that you wouldn't shut up about for a month?" Sasuke asked.

The girl smiled brightly. "I thought I told you I finished it last Friday! It was only for a week, not an all the time thing."

"Oh..." Sasuke seemed dissapointed. "So, Sakura, what exactly are you doing then?" Naruto watched the two chat with an odd feeling of the need to be on guard. His muscles were tensed, and his jaw clenched. He didn't like the way that Sakura girl kept staring at Sasuke. It bugged him constantly while they talked.

"Oh, wouldn't you like to know?" She teased. "I've got to go grab some things for my mom. I should probably get going, but I can spare a few minutes for you, Sasuke." She said in a flirting way. Sakura went to reach out to hug him from behind but quickly found a tight grip wrap around her wrist. "Wha-" She turned her head to see Naruto staring back at her with a deadly look in his eyes. He was emitting a low and deep growl that could barely be heard while squeezing tighter onto her wrist. She tried to pull away, but couldn't even get her wrist to budge from his strong grip. "H-Hey, let go! That Hurts!" Sasuke looked over to see what was going on and immdiately jumped to release Naruto's grip.

"Naruto! Let Her Go!" Sasuke yelled, not able to do anything to even loosen his grip. Naruto continued to stare up at the girl, not hearing Sasuke's request. "Naruto! Let Go! You're Hurting Her!" Sakura continued to squirm under his grip. Naruto squeezed harder, feeling the small bones begin to crack under his grasp.

Sakura gasped from the pain and tried desperately to get out of his grip. "S-Stop! Let Me Go!"

Sasuke continued to yell at Naruto. "NARUTO!!LET GO!!" Sasuke's voice had finaly penitrated Naruto's mind, the innocence immdiately flushing back into his face as he let go of Sakura's wrist. Sakura stumbled backwards a little before catching her balance and pulling her wrist towards her chest. Naruto stared at the girl's wrist then Sasuke.

"..I-I.." Naruto's eyes immdiately began to fill with tears.

"..I think he broke it..." Sakura mummbled trying to move it. Sasuke stared at Naruto wondering what the hell had just happened. Naruto didn't even look like he knew.

Naruto stared up at Sakura and then turned to Sasuke. "..They were right..." He mummbled. Sasuke scrunched his eyebrows together. "They said that I'd hurt..."

"Naruto, that wasn't because of what they said." Sasuke said trying to take the guilt away from Naruto.

"Sasuke. Take me home." Naruto said.

"Naruto, listen to m-"

"Take me home, now!" Naruto's voice began to rise. Sakura stared at the two confused.

"That didn't have anything to do with-"

"Sasuke! Take me HOME!!!" Naruto yelled, his voice cracking a bit. Sasuke stared at him for a minute and then sighed. just as Naruto had stopped talking, the cook placed the bowl of ramen on the table. Sasuke stared down at it.

"Don't you want to finish yo-"

"Sasuke." Naruto said firmly.

Sasuke sighed and then paid the bill for the food. He turned to Sakura and smiled slightly. "Lunch is on me." He said before standing up with Naruto. He was turning to leave when Sakura grabbed his wrist with her good hand.

"Wait a minute, I'm not gonna let you walk away untill you tell me what's up. Who's the blonde?" She asked.

Sasuke stared at her and then sighed. "Naruto. He's just a friend of mine."

"Since when? I've never heard you mention anything about a 'Naruto'."

"This morning actually," Sakura scrunched her eyebrows together confused. "I met him out in the woods. He's got his own house out there, down by the lak-" Sasuke cut of when he saw the stunned look Sakura had on her face. Her eyes were staring at Naruto, undetected by him. Sasuke looked at her and saw the color drain from her face. "What?"

"Sasuke, you didn't..." She mummbled. Sasuke stared at her confused. "Please tell me you didn't..."

Sasuke looked over at Naruto and then back to Sakura. "What? Didn't what?" He asked confused.

Sakura pulled him closer to her. "Sasuke, take him back there now." Naruto's ears strained, hearing her voice go lower, and surprisingly, he could understand every word she was saying, almoat like she was talking in her normal loud voice. "That kid isn't normal. He's different from us, you can't have him out here."

Sasuke looked at her odd. "What do you mean different?"

"Haven't you ever heard the stroies about the 'kid in the woods'?" Sasuke stared at her blankly. Sakura opened her mouth to talk, but noticed Naruto looking at them from the corner of his eye and quickly ended the conversation. "He's just not normal, Sasuke. Take him back now, and forget you ever met him." She shoved him away and Sasuke turned back to Naruto to find him staring sadly at the ground. He knew immdiately that he heard what she said.

"Nar-"

"Just take me home..." He mummbled wishing he knew the way himself. Sasuke looked down at the ground and sighed. What Sakura had meant by 'different' he had no idea. He just knew that he didn't see it in Naruto, at least not when he looked like that.

The walk back was quiet and awkward. Naruto trailed behind Sasuke, trying to keep his distance until they reached the enterance into the woods. Sasuke stopped to wait for Naruto, only to watch him walk right past. Naruto turned around slightly. "I can find my way back from here."

"You sure? I could come just to be-"

"I just have to follow the trail, right?" Naruto didn't wait for a response, he began walking back into the woods, back into his earlier life of unknown darkness. Sasuke watched him leave, letting out a sigh once he was out of veiw.

_"Haven't you ever heard the stories about the 'kid in the woods'?" _ Sakura's question lingered in his head. He had never once heard about any kind of stories, and if they were about Naruto, what exactly were they? Sasuke kicked the dirt before he began to walk back home, dissapointed at having to take the old way back. Maybe he might see Sakura on the way back and he could ask her about them. Sasuke was reminded of the wound on his back when he turned around, the bend sending a strong wave of pain through him. He winced, not remembering the wound hurting that badly. It felt as if someone was tearing the wound open further, but Sasuke knew that it was probably just the skin that was tightening around the wound that caused that feeling.

Sasuke bit his lip and focused on something else until the stinging subsided. He sighed, then continued on his walk home.

Sasuke layed himself down onto the bed carefully, trying not to disturb his wound. He didn't end up seeing Sakura again on his way back. After getting home, Sasuke didn't do much except think. All he thought about was Naruto, and those 'stories'. What in the world could he have done for people to make stories about him? "...'The kid in the woods'... " Sasuke had repeated to himself over and over throughout the day. He figured that he'd stop by the bookstore and see if they had something in about it, or even if the owner may have known something about it. Sakura had said it like everyone knew the stories, so he was guessing that it couldn't be that hard to find some kind of information on it.

Sasuke rolled onto his side, slowly, then let out a sigh. Now he had to wory about how he would manage at work tomorrow with his back hurting so much. He closed his eyes. Maybe by tomorrow, the stinging would fade a little...

Sasuke woke up the next morning, his body stiff and aching. He felt like how he had when he first started working. His head was pounding, and his throat felt scratchy. Go figure, he uses his sick day when he wasn't sick and now that he has to go back to work, he gets sick. Sasuke rubbed his eyes and then tried to pull himself out of bed. He was five minutes earlier then his alarm clock, deciding to just get up now rather than wait for the irritating noise. He clicked his alarm off and began to stretch, but stopped.

The wound still stung. Sasuke ran his hands over his face, already dreading today. He yawned and then stood up, heading down the hall and towards the bathroom. Hopefully the shower would help to wake him up.

The shower hadn't helped him at all. When the water reached his back, it stung more than ever, feeling like he had just lit himself on fire. He did his best to not let the water reach contact with the wound, but it only made it worse, not being able to pull his arms to his head without it hurting him. Sasuke gave up on the shower eventually and dried himself off with the towel, being careful with his back.

He sighed standing naked in front of the mirror. Now that he was seriuosly thinking about it, how exactly did he get the mark in the first place? He didn't recall getting injured at work the day before, and he was almost positive that he didn't have it when he was talking to Naruto in the morning. Yet when he woke up, he had the mark there, like he had gotten it a few days ago.

However he got it, it sucked. Not only was the scratch bothering him, but now he was almost sure he had gotten a synesis sickness. Sasuke pinched the skin between his eyes and groaned. His throat was itchy, his head pounding, his back stinging, and now his eyes would be watering and have the feeling of a sneeze for a grueling day working in the sun.

Perfect.

Sasuke started to wonder if maybe he should just call in sick again, but he knew that his boss would probably be upset about it. Sasuke stared at his reflection, seeing the sickness on his face. Well, at least his boss wouldn't think that he was lying...

He looked down at his naked self and then sighed, not wanting to bend over to pull on his boxers. After a hesitating moment, he eventually pulled his boxers and pants on. He stared up at the light, trying to get himself to sneeze, but it wasn't happening. Sasuke groaned, then picked up his shirt and put it on. He checked his phone and realized that it was already time for him to leave and he hadn't even got the chance to pack a lunch or eat breakfeast.

Sasuke thought about trying to hurry and put something together, but as he was heading towards the kitchen he realized that he wasn't even hungry. He grabbed a leftover sandwhich and brought it with him just in case.

His work day was hell. He had already dropped three loads, having to pick it back up by himself. Everytime he bent down to pick up a load, he was reminded of the wound on his back. His arms weren't working well with him, his strength drained from him after the first few loads. He had some how managed to make it to lunch break, the sandwhich he brought laying un-opened next to him. He had his arm covering his eyes, sitting off on a bench in the shade. Normally, people would be crowding the bench, since it was the only one that sat in the shade, but people must not have wanted to catch what Sasuke had, because everyone made sure to keep there distance from the sick teen. His head was hurting now more than ever, all of the over working turning his once headache into a migrane. God, did he just want to go home and rest.

He looked up to see just about the only other person his age at the work place, on his way over to him. Sasuke looked up at the brunette, guessing that it had to be his boss wanting him, since him and Kiba never really talked much. Kiba sat down next to Sasuke and sighed. "Boy, three loads down and four slipped ones? Someone's not having a good day."

Sasuke looked over at the tan boy, staring at him for a moment. "What?"

Kiba glanced at him and then back to the loading dock. "Nothin'. Just thought I'd come by and chat, since no one else seems to want to." Sasuke sighed, looking up into the sunlight, and finally getting the quick relief of a sneeze. "Boss is gonna think you've got a hangover, seeing you like that."

"I wish it was just a hangover..." Sasuke mummbled, though he had never been drunk before.

"Looks like it." Kiba leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. "Yeah, the boss already heard about your mess up. Probably be seeing him some time after break. Hopefully he's in a good mood." Sasuke groaned.

"I just want to get home..." He complained.

"So, why didn't you just call in sick?" Kiba asked, reminding Sasuke that they didn't work Wedsnesdays together.

Sasuke pinched his nose. "Because I called in yesterday...And I need the money or I won't make rent..."

Kiba responded with a 'hm'. He let out a sigh and then looked down at the sandwhich Sasuke packed. "You're not even gonna try to eat?"

Sasuke glanced down at the sandwhich. "No, I'm not hungry..." He wished Kiba would just leave him alone. His throat was in no condition for socializing. Still, the brunette stayed, asking random questions that were starting to just get annoying. Sasuke's head pounded everytime Kiba said something. Didn't that kid know what it was like to be sick? Sasuke rubbed his eyes. "Look, I know you're trying to be nice and all, but can you just leave me alone?" Sasuke finally said.

Kiba blinked, taking his request a bit to heart. "Oh...Sorry..." He mummbled. He hesitated before he was getting up to leave. A sudden thought crossed Sasuke's throbbing mind as Kiba went to walk away.

"Oh! Kiba!" Kiba's head snapped back to him. "Have you ever heard anything about some kid in the woods?"

"Hunh? You mean those kid stories?" Kiba blinked, wondering why he asked that.

Sasuke stood up. "Yeah, those ones."

Kiba cocked his head. "Yeah, well what about them?"

Sasuke grabbed onto the side of the bench, feeling dizzy after standing up too fast. "What are they?"

Kiba was confused by the question. "...stories...?"

Sasuke sighed. "No, I know that! I mean, what're the stories?"

"Oh, that. It's just about a kid that lives in the woods. You're not suppose to go out there because he'll supposedly follow you home and leave his mark on you the next time you fall asleep. Then there's something else about a fox involved, but I don't really remember all the details..."

"Wait a minute..." Sasuke's mind was thinking about the mark on his back. "Mark? Is there supposed to be some kind of description or something?"

"Description of the mark? No, I think it's just supposed to feel like fire or something like that. You're supposed to somehow feel his misery through it or whatever. What's up with all the questions anyways? You're acting like it's happened to you..." Kiba asked with a cocked eyebrow.

Sasuke bit his cheek. "O-oh... No, someone just brought it up and it was bugging me for awhile, cause I didn't know what it was." He lied.

"Oh...Well, breaks almost over, I still need to use the phone so, see ya." Kiba dismissed himself, Sasuke knowing he was just trying to respect his last request. He felt bad for pushing him away like that, but he couldn't take all of the talking. There was already enough noise going on everywhere without him adding to it.

Sasuke let himself fall back onto the bench. He thought about his wound on his back, then of Naruto. That little information helped him out a bit, by why was Naruto supposedly so dangerous? And what in the hell does a fox have to do with it? Sasuke thought about it for a moment, then gave up, the headache not allowing him to think straight. After a long moment of silence, the bell went off, telling the workers that their lunch break was over. Sasuke groaned, not wanting to move. He sat for a moment before forcing himself to stand up. Sasuke stood up slowly not wanting to get himself dizzy. He took his sandwhich with him and then tossed it in the garbage. He walked slowly back towards his loading dock.

After heading back over there, he saw his boss standing over the group, talking with the captian. Sasuke tried to slip into the group, knowing that he was there to talk about the three loads he had dropped. Juast as he was heading towards the dock, he heard his name being called by his boss. He sighed, then turned around. His boss was staring at him with a dissapointed look on his face as he made his way towards him. "Three dropped loads? It's barely noon yet kid, what's the matter with you?"

Sasuke looked down, scratching the back of his head. "I'm sorry, sir. " His boss stared at him, Sasuke's sickness even more obvious with the groggy sound of his voice.

"You still sick?" He asked.

Sasuke nodded. "Yes, but I couldn't take another day off, if I did then I wouldn't have enough to pay for-"

"Slow down. Sick or not, I can't have you here dropping all of my loads. It's alright to push yourself everynow and then, but when you can barley keep your head up, you shouldn't be comin' in and tryin' tp lift these loads." Sasuke bit his lip, looking down. His boss sighed. "Now go on home. I'll pay you for today so you don't miss that bill, alright? "

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly. "B-but sir! I only worked for four and a half hou-"

"Well, I'll just have to give you a bonus. Buisness is doin' good right now, I think I can afford to give ya a bit extra." Sasuke still felt differently about getting the money he hadn't worked for, but he remained quiet. His boss smiled. "Now go on home, I don't want you gettin' any of my other workers sick, buisness sure as hell ain't that good." Sasuke nodded and then went to go and punch himself out.


	4. Chapter 4

-Oh, wow, I can't believe all if the favs. I got for this story. I am extremely happy for all the people that have read this. I almost decided against not putting this up here but I'm glad I did. Thanks again. R+F-

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters.

Sasuke collapsed on his bed. His arms felt like jello from all of the lifting and his legs felt like they could barley keep him standing. His eyes were watery and heavy. All he wanted to do was just fall asleep, but the congestion in his sinuses wasn't going to let that happen anytime soon. Sasuke laid still on the bed for what felt like an hour, his mind blank and foggy. He started to think about Naruto again, and what Kiba had told him. There was no way that that kid story was related to Naruto, it just couldn't be…and if it was, why hadn't he heard about it? "They, they, they…" Sasuke mumbled to himself. "Who are they?" He let the thought linger in his mind for a moment before turning on his side very slowly and carefully, the mark on his back teasing him with pain. He winced slightly, trying to get some kind of relief from the pain, only to be disappointed. This mark was driving him crazy. There would be sometimes when he wouldn't feel it at all and then other times when the pain would be so unbearable, he'd let out small screams every now and then. Right now, he oddly felt the need to cry.

Sasuke brought his knees as close as he could to his chest without disturbing his wound. Sitting in the dark all by himself suddenly felt so depressing. He bit his lip thinking back into his past. He hardly ever allowed himself to think back into his deep memories, but here he was, feeling his eyes burn from thinking about his parents. His mom first and mainly, thinking about how calm and sweet she was. She had always made sure to keep the four of them happy-his dad, brother, him and her that is. It was hard to lose her, especially at such a young age. His father, he had never quite liked to start off with. Nothing he did ever impressed him and gave Sasuke a feeling of low self confidence in the things he did for almost his entire childhood. Sasuke never hated him though, he couldn't, not at such a young. Hate was a word he wasn't capable of back then, his father's death was what had stopped it from sprouting.

Then there was his brother, Itachi. Sasuke felt his throat tighten up as he remembered his sweet older brother. There were so many things Sasuke regretted so much before his brother disappeared, like the fight they had gotten into the day before. Then not speaking to him on the day of his disappearance. It was hard enough for Sasuke to deal with Itachi missing, but then his parents being murdered within the next week. It wasn't long before Sasuke could feel the tears beginning to flow down his cheeks. If he could change one thing about what happened, it would have to be ending on bad terms with his brother at the least. His mind used to be constantly consumed with the thought of what had happened to him, but he was never met with an answer.

Sasuke wiped his eyes and took in a deep breath. Why in the hell was he so depressed all of a sudden? He looked over at the other side of the room, knowing he should get up and take at least some pain relievers but he just didn't feel like moving. He just wanted to lay there and eventually fall asleep.

Sasuke let out a yawn and stretched. He laid back down, feeling dizzy and having a small headache. He was still sick.

He rubbed his eyes, looking over at his alarm clock and groaned. He slept in three hours past his alarm and hadn't called in. Hopefully, he wouldn't get in trouble for this. Sasuke pulled out his cell phone and dialed his work.

The phone was answered before the first ring had even finished, and his boss was the one who answered. "Labor Work Fo-" He started.

"It's me, Sasuke." Sasuke said, cutting him off so he didn't have to go through the entire phone speech.

"Sasuke, where the hell are ya'!? You have any clue how busy we are today!?" His boss pulled away from the phone to shout at some worker. "Get your ass down here!"

"But-" Sasuke didn't have time to speak, his boss hung up on him before he could. He let out a sigh and kicked off his sheets. Today was going to be a loooong day. Sasuke forced his body to get up and move. It took him a lot longer than normal for him to get into his clothes, skipping a shower since he was late as is.

He didn't bother with breakfast of lunch and walked out the door.

Sasuke walked over to the punch out board and gratefully pulled his name out. The day was terrible and long. Why they were so busy, he had no clue, but they picked the wrong day to be. He worked his normal hours, starting off slow, but picking up his pace little by little. Sasuke was also thankful for the help of Kiba whom, without he would've most likely not survived the work day.

Kiba noticed him struggling about an hour into the day and doubled his load by helping out Sasuke with his, and accomplishing his own work at the same time. Sasuke thanked him at least a million times and promised to give him some kind of pay out of his check, but Kiba wouldn't accept it.

When Kiba had become such a respectful person, Sasuke had no clue. He just knew he was more than glad they worked together today.

Sasuke replaced his card and began walking towards the exit when he saw Kiba out of the corner of his eye. He stopped and waited for him, feeling the need to. Kiba noticed and rushed himself a bit then walked over to him.

"Hey," Kiba greeted.

"You know you really didn't have to help me out."

Kiba shrugged. "If I didn't who would've?"

Sasuke looked down. "Well, thanks…again."

"Enough with that, it's starting to get annoying…" Kiba said shaking his head. "You can't say that you would've been able to do all that by yourself."

"I could've…" Sasuke mumbled, deep down knowing he wouldn't have.

"Right," Kiba said. He wiped sweat away from his forehead. "So, how's your back?"

"Oh…" Sasuke bit his lip being reminded of the embarrassing drops he almost had. [Kiba being the one that had saved them from dropping.] Earlier, when the two were lifting a load, his back exploded with pain, instantly dropping onto the ground and screaming. Kiba and a few other workers stood by him, trying to help him, but when they reached out, Sasuke instantly reacted by kicking at them. In that strange moment, Sasuke didn't seem to recognize anyone of them. He felt like they were there to try and hurt him. Kiba apparently held him down until he had eventually calmed and returned to his senses. He had no idea what had just happened to him and in a way, he was afraid. "I-it's doing good…" Sasuke replied. In honesty, his back was burning right now.

Kiba raised an eyebrow like he didn't believe him. "You sure…?" Sasuke nodded in response. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, how exactly did you hurt your back?"

Sasuke stopped. He had not been prepared for someone to ask him this question. He looked over at Kiba, seeing the worry in his expression. He felt the need that he should tell him the truth about it. "Well…" He bit his lip and then looked over at the restrooms. "Come on." Sasuke walked over towards the bathroom, Kiba following him with a confused look on his face. They stepped into it, Sasuke double checking that no one was in there before locking the door and turning towards Kiba. Kiba was staring at him a bit uncomfortably before Sasuke pulled off his shirt and turned and showed him the mark.

"Holy-" Kiba's eyes widened seeing the mark. "How in the _hell _did that happen!?"

Sasuke turned around to face him and pulled his shirt back over his head. "That's the weird part; I don't know how it got there."

"What do you mean you don't know? How do you get hurt like that without knowing!?"

"Well, I have an idea but…" Sasuke looked up at him unsure if he should say it. Kiba waited for a response. Sasuke opened his mouth and then shut it. "I've got to show you something first."

"Alright, a cabin." Kiba blinked, turning to Sasuke. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"Just wait." Sasuke stepped towards the front door and pounded on the door. He knew Naruto had to be inside. "Hey! Open up!"

Kiba scrunched his eyebrows together. "Does someone live here or something?"

"Yeah," Sasuke said, returning to his knocking. "NARUTO!!"

"Naruto…? Who in the hell is that?" Kiba asked looking into one of the windows.

Sasuke waited a minute before turning the door knob. The door was opened. He stepped in without hesitation, but stopped looking at the house.

"H-hey! You shouldn't just walk into someone's house like that!" Kiba said but followed him, completely contradicting himself. He blinked. "Umm…?"

Sasuke shook his head seeing that there wasn't a piece of furniture in the place. It looked completely empty, other than paper that was scattered everywhere and some thick sheets. He looked over at the left side of the room and saw baskets with bread in it. Sasuke swallowed before stepping into the house fully. "…Naruto…?"

Kiba examined the place. "You sure someone lives here…?"

Sasuke nodded then walked down the hallway, opening the first door he saw. He was relieved to find that Naruto at least lived with a bathroom, but disappointed not to find Naruto himself. He walked down to the next room and turned the knob, only to find it locked. He let out a sigh. "Naruto…?" There was a long silence before Sasuke spoke again. "Naruto, I know you're in there."

He looked down at the creek of light that escaped through the bottom of the door. He could see a shadow moving around, one that seemed to be pacing back and fourth. "Come on, open up! I want to talk to you!"

"H-hey, Sasuke?" Kiba called from the living room. "Does this Naruto guy have blonde hair?"

Sasuke snapped his head down the hall. "Yeah, why?"

"Well, he's walking down towards that lake."

Sasuke looked down again at the shadow and blinked. Then who…? His eyes widened a bit. Was it maybe 'they'? Sasuke let out a breath realizing just how bad this was. Naruto was outside, and 'they' were waiting in his bedroom. Not to mention, Sasuke had just given away the fact that they two had conversed by calling his name. He quickly rushed out of the hallway and pulled Kiba out of the house along with him. His eyes snapped down to the lake to find Naruto standing there, staring out at it like he always had.

"Naruto!" Sasuke called, Naruto's head snapping towards him and Kiba. He blinked when his eyes met Kiba's tan and tall figure. The two rushed down towards him, Kiba still extremely confused by the whole ordeal.

"S-Sasuke." He blinked. "What on earth are you doing here?"

-Short Chapter, sorry for that. : ) R+F


	5. Chapter 5

Unfortunately, this will be the last chapter you will see for a little while. My internet access will be cut off after today. -_-'But that just means I will be writing more in it, making them longer, and hopefully better. You'll see a chapter from me maybe within the next month :] R+F

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters.

"Never mind that right now. Who's in your room?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto's face appeared indifferent. "I'm not in my room, how could I tell you?"

Sasuke blinked. "Naruto…?" His face suddenly showed worry. "Are you okay?"

"To you? No. To me, I'm perfectly normal." Sasuke looked at him and then turned to Kiba. Kiba shrugged. Sasuke then looked back at the house.

"I thought you said you don't get visitors?" Sasuke said, indicating the shadow he saw.

"I don't. You're the first one." He said staring at Sasuke. He turned to Kiba and nodded at him. "And you're the second."

Kiba nodded back feeling slightly awkward and confused. Sasuke blinked. Naruto's behavior was odd enough before, today it seemed to be slightly odder. Naruto then looked up at his house. "I don't think anyone's inside, I was just in there a second ago. My door was jammed so I had to climb out through the window." He explained as he walked up to his house.

Sasuke felt a slight relief lift off of his shoulders. He probably saw Naruto's shadow as he was crawling out then. His small worry had been for no reason. "Well, you couldn't have said something? I was pounding on the door."

"Why? It was open." Naruto said pulling his door open and stepping inside. Sasuke blinked then shook his head.

"Not this door, your bed room door."

"I told you it was jammed."

Sasuke smacked a hand to his forehead. "Naruto…Never mind…" Kiba smirked, letting out a small chuckle at the conversation as they walked all the way inside. The three of them stood inside his living room before Naruto stepped down the hallway. He passed up the bathroom and walked straight towards his room, reaching out for the handle. Sasuke and Kiba watched from the living room taking a step or two towards the hallway.

He twisted the door knob, finding it still jammed. "Yeah, it's jammed." He wriggled it a bit and then pushed it upward, somehow managing to get it open. Once it was opened, Sasuke and Kiba followed him towards his room, both of their eyes widening.

"Whoa…" Kiba mouthed.

"Naruto…" Sasuke stepped into the room. "Did you…draw all of this?" He asked looking at all of the sprawled paper everywhere with pictures of the house and lake everywhere.

"Draw?" Naruto cocked his head, picking up one of his pictures and examining it. "That's what people call this?"

Kiba raised an eyebrow at the statement turning to Sasuke for an answer, only to be ignored. Sasuke looked at some of them, and then spotted one of a person. After a second glance he realized that it was him in the picture. He stepped over some pictures and picked this one up, examining it. He was sleeping. His face was half buried in the pillow, his arm underneath it. His expression was peaceful looking and relaxed. Something he never seemed to see in himself. "When did you…?"

Naruto looked over and saw the picture he was looking at. His face reddened a bit. "Um, I did it at your house…When we decided to take a nap." Naruto started to play with his fingers, biting his lip timidly. "I woke up and felt like putting you on paper so I did…"

Kiba looked at the picture and then at the two. Both of them seemed to have almost a giddy aura between each other. It was strange seeing the normal, quiet and laid back Sasuke with a weird glow. "How long ago did you guys meet?"

Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other and then at Kiba. "Umm, a few days ago, actually..."

Kiba blinked. "Seriously? You guys look like you've been friends since childhood or something."

Sasuke blinked at the statement. Although, he defiantly did feel closer to Naruto than anyone else. Maybe it was because Naruto was the only person he actually willing let into his life. Naruto didn't seem to be affected by the statement. In fact, Kiba's presence seemed to have just hit him.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked finally in a monotone.

Kiba blinked. "Oh, Name's Kiba." He extended his hand for him to shake. Naruto stared at it blankly then looked up at him. Kiba pulled his hand back, now feeling awkward.

"Why'd you do that?" Naruto asked.

Kiba looked over at Sasuke, who had a small smile on his face. "Um, hold out my hand?" Naruto nodded. "Well, that's what you do usually when you meet people. You shake their hands."

Naruto scrunched his eyebrows together than held his hand out and began shaking it. Sasuke let out a laugh."Not like that…" He said, shaking his head. "Like this." Sasuke then extended his hand out towards Kiba, who grabbed it and shook it casually.

"Ohh." Naruto mouthed. He stared at his hand for a second longer and then looked up at the two. "Why'd you come here?"

Sasuke bit his lip. "Well, to ask you something and to show him something."

Naruto stared at him, waiting. Sasuke let out a small breath, and then lifted up his shirt, pulling it off and turning slightly so that he could see the mark on his back. "Do you know how I got this?" Naruto blinked, his mouth dropping slightly seeing the wound.

Sasuke's face dropped. "I guess not…"

Naruto swallowed then shook his head. For some reason, the look of the wound on his back sent an odd chill down his spine. It gave him an urge to touch it, run his hand on it and see how Sasuke would react to it. His hand twitched, wanting to dig his nails into it and cause it to bleed, then to watch him when he'd-

Naruto shook his head, ridding himself of the thought. Why on earth was he thinking thoughts like that? "You okay?" Naruto twitched to Kiba's voice. He looked up at him. "You look a little…queasy like."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was just….thinking about something…"

Sasuke returned his shirt back to his chest, then looked at Kiba. "Well…I…I'll have to tell you when we leave."

"You don't need to." Kiba said. Sasuke blinked. "I get it now…" He then eyed Naruto for a moment. Naruto avoided his gaze, feeling like Kiba had read his thoughts and was trying to call him out on it.

Sasuke stared at the two for a moment and then looked around them. "Um…Anyways…" He said trying to start up a conversation that would get rid of the odd tension that had suddenly filled the room.

Kiba turned to Sasuke. "Shouldn't you be at home right now? If we have another incident like earlier, we'll have to get you checked out by a doctor…"

Sasuke sighed then turned to Naruto. He was hoping to talk with him a bit more today. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow or some other time maybe…"

Naruto bit his lip. He really didn't want them to go. He liked being able to talk with Sasuke, and Kiba as well, even though he had just met them. He nodded and watched as the two started to walk towards the hall. "Um, Sasuke!" He jumped, watching him turn around to his name. "What do you do when people leave?"

"Say goodbye...Give a wave, or a hug." He responded, shrugging. Naruto cocked his head to the side. Sasuke rolled his eyes, and then waved. "Bye Naruto…" He said walking down the hall. Kiba nodded at him, and then waved as well.

Naruto's reaction was delayed, lightly waving his hand after the two had left. He sighed then looked down at the drawing he did of Sasuke. His eye was disproportionate …

"That's why you asked me about that story?" Kiba asked.

"Wait a minute, how'd you figure that out?" Sasuke asked.

Kiba rolled his eyes. "First, you ask me about the stories, then you've got that mark, then on top of that, you take me to a place in the woods where one person lives alone. It isn't hard to figure out."

Sasuke didn't feel answered. "That's not what I meant."

"You asked me how I figured it out and I told you."

"No! I mean…" He thought for a minute. "You say it like it's obvious and that anyone would know about it…"

"Sasuke…" He let out a deep breath. "I don't mean this offensively but, when most of us were told that story, you were…well…" Kiba looked over at him, hoping he'd understand. Sasuke stared at him waiting. "…You were putting yourself to bed…" Kiba said in the nicest way he could think of.

Sasuke looked down. "Oh…" He mumbled.

Kiba felt bad for having to bring it up. "And, well, when the whole thing happened, it was rumored that it was all real. The parents just kind of turned it into a story to keep it out of their minds and to keep their kids in line. The issue died down after a couple of years."

Sasuke thought on it for a moment. "But what happened? You said something about a fox before. How was that possible?"

Kiba rubbed his face. "I don't know, you're asking the wrong person. My mom didn't give two shits about what was going on then…She was more concerned about making rent without my dad around…."

Sasuke bit his lip. "…I'm sorry…" He mumbled. Kiba shrugged.

"No biggie. The only thing I really know is that those 'they' people he was talking about, it was most likely the people in our government. Something they did, they made sure to keep it secret. It came out to the public seven years afterwards- which was like, shit ten years ago now…? Anyways, they came up with some reason for it, but like I said, you're asking the wrong person."

Sasuke sighed, looking up and seeing his apartment come into view. "Well, that still helps…but doesn't that bother you?"

"What? The government lying?"

"No, well sort of. I mean how they're treating Naruto. You saw his house."

Kiba shook his head. "Do you know how many things the human population has done that bothers me? That bothers everyone? It's not exactly a question of it bothers you or not, more of how to fix it."

"Why can't they just release him? He doesn't act any different from anyone else…besides his lack of communication knowledge…" Sasuke mumbled.

"Obviously there's some reason…I mean that wound, _I_ can tell that he did that to you and I wasn't even there."

Sasuke suddenly felt defensive. "Hey, you don't know that."

Kiba looked at him. "Sasuke," Sasuke continued to hold his defensive expression. "Look, there's something different about him, I can tell that. I'm not saying to cut off communication with him, just be careful. He didn't even recognize the wound."

"Which means it probably wasn't him! When could he have done it anyways? I was with him the entire time and I didn't feel the wound until I woke up after the nap." Kiba chuckled a bit. "What?"

"Your stupidity right now is hilarious …" Sasuke's jaw dropped slightly. "Didn't he _just_ tell you that he woke up to draw you earlier? Right then he could've….Then, if you were with him the entire time, who else could've done it? I highly doubt you did that to yourself while you were sleeping." Sasuke kept his mouth shut. He felt slightly embarrassed at his choice of words. Kiba smirked. "Just get some rest. I'll tell the boss you got injured tomorrow. "

"Well, I was gonna come in tom-"

"You're not coming in after what happened at work. If things weren't so damn busy, the boss probably would've sent you home after your crazy spasm…"

Sasuke blushed slightly. "I didn't do that on purpose…"

"I know you didn't…" Kiba sighed out. "Just take some pain killers or something."

Sasuke nodded and waved goodbye to him then made his way towards his room. Once he opened his door and stepped in, something hit him.

He didn't feel sick in the slightest way.

Sasuke stepped into his bathroom and examined himself. Besides the lack of shower that had made his hair slightly greasy and his face a bit dirty, he looked perfectly fine. Sasuke drew in deep breathes and blinked his eyes. No congestion and no watery eyes…When the hell did this happen?

He shook it out of his head, and then pulled off his shirt. Shower first, and then sleep, he concluded, pulling out a clean towel, turning on the water and pulling off his remaining clothes.


	6. Chapter 6

So, with the last two chapters I posted on here, I was having a hard time tryin to decide on where to go. I have the entire idea for the story mapped out in my head but I couldn't figure out how to write the stuff in between. So while taking notes in my physics class, I pulled out a note book and made an outline for the entire story, writing out summaries of what was going to happen. This actually helped me figure out what to do next, so hopefully there won't be any questions that are unanswered but please share your opinion and review[favorite too]. I don't want to accidently miss an important detail. Sorry for the long ramble.

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I just pair them together :]

_Work__, work, work… More work… It seems all you do is work. _

_ My back is aching…My arms are weak…My head is heavy…_

_ Why do I only see dull? I see black…and grey…Every time I look for color, the closest I get is from all the sound around me. The orchestra of the human race endeavors for me to indulge in it, but with the same breath of air, wish to deny it all in the same. My life is done. My story was written. All I ask is that you step outside and find something other than black tones in this place…_

_ Find a light that can guide you, find an illuminate life-force for me to dominate. Allow me to live, allow me to breath, allow me to see. Allow me to be free. Liberate me from this hell-hole cage and allow me to run rampant. The only thing you have to do is sense myself within you._

_ Sasuke, I'm begging you…_

Sasuke jolted up from his slumber and rubbed his eyes. That would have been one of the strangest dreams he had ever had if indeed he had only dreamt it once. No vision, just words. All very

depressing words… He turned over on his bed and glimpsed at his alarm clock and fluffed up his pillow. It was just past two in the morning, sleep still weighing heavily on his body but at the same time pushing at his mentality. He had been having these dreams frequently. It always seemed to get more melancholy each night. Also, he noticed more poetic. The words that were calling out to him in his sleep seemed to be more and more decorative with words yet plain all at the same time. [I'm not trying to praise myself, don't yell at me DX] He wished he knew what all of it meant. The words itself seemed in no way related to him, so why did it seem like someone was asking for release?

He rubbed his head and pulled his pillow over his face. He only had a few more hours before he had to get up for work. Sasuke closed his eyes and focused solely on the deep black that penetrated his mind, eventually dragging him back to sleep.

Sasuke let out a deep and hot breath. The summer heat seemed to have been intensified today. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead and then tried getting himself to find the energy to continue his work. He had only an hour left before he could leave, and it seemed to be a long one. Sasuke gripped onto the bottom of a crate and pulled it off of its loaded shipment and placed it onto the trolley [I think that's what they're called…?] then turned back and went for another one.

He had finally loaded up the shipment and stocked it all, consuming the last hour of his day in the process. It was a Wednesday, so he wasn't going to see Kiba at all. He almost impatiently punched himself out and went for the door. On the way out he spotted his boss waiting on his chair by the door. Sasuke respectfully nodded at him, just as he nodded back. He couldn't help but feel an awkward tension in doing so. His boss seemed to have been keeping a close eye on him the past few days Sasuke had noticed. He let the thought slip into the back of his mind as he started his walk home. He looked forward at his distant path and felt the need to go through the woods.

He looked over his shoulder as if he would spot someone watching him, and then began making his usual route home.

The trees provided a nice shade from the sunlight, its rays bursting through the trees gaps and expressing the color distinction in the life around him. He looked upward, finding his thoughts to be consumed with Naruto.

Was he the only reason that Sasuke decided on taking this way back home? Most likely. The last time Sasuke had gotten to see Naruto was maybe a week ago. He decided on keeping a bit of a distance between the two, at least until all of the weird things that were happening to him decided to settle down. The only thing that had been strange for him now was his dreams and he couldn't possibly blame those on Naruto, could he?

Sasuke couldn't help but grin slightly when he approached the house and found the blonde sitting on the porch steps. Naruto snickered, putting his face down into his knees he had pulled up to his chest. The two remained quiet up until Sasuke was a foot or so away from him.

"Hey." Sasuke greeted.

Naruto smiled at him before standing up and laughing slightly. "Hello."

"What's with you today? You're really…glowy…"

Naruto titled his head to the side. "Glowy? Well, I guess I'm just happy."

"About what?" Sasuke asked.

"About you being here. I haven't got to see you in awhile." Naruto said looking off to the side.

Sasuke bit his lip. "Sorry about that…"

"S'okay." Naruto responded calmly. After a short moment, a silence had settled in. Sasuke shifted his stance then looked to the side.

"So, um," He rubbed the back of his neck. "I was wondering if you maybe wanted to come home with me. You know, let me take you around a bit and show you some more things."

Naruto's eyes showed a sign of discomfort in the situation, yet he turned to Sasuke and spent only a moment longer on the thought. "What about what happened last time though?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Forget about last time. It wasn't anything big in the first place."

Naruto again, felt the doubt rising up inside of him. He knew that last time wouldn't have seen like such a big deal to Sasuke, but it was to him. He wanted to know certain that he had the will power not to harm a person.

"You won't know unless you go…" Sasuke tempted him, being able to tell his thoughts by the expression on his face.

Naruto sighed looking once again at Sasuke and then back at his house. "Fine…" Sasuke grinned. "Only for a little while though…"

"I don't have a problem with that." He responded then turned and began leading the way back into the village.

"What exactly is this…?"

Sasuke pulled his gaze away from the cooking food on his stove and found Naruto examining his glass of green tea. "It's a drink." He responded dully.

"Well…Hn." He lifted the glass above his head and looked at the bottom. "Why's it taste different?"

"Because it's supposed to." Sasuke said. "Now shut up and drink it."

Naruto scrunched his eyebrows together and stuck his tongue out at Sasuke when he had his back turned, then brought the drink to his lips. Sasuke allowed the small chicken to simmer for a bit, turning to the boiling rice and pulling the pot off the burner. He drained the rice and set it back onto the stove, turning off the burner and then covering the food with a lid while the orange chicken still cooked. Naruto sat on Sasuke's bed, watching Sasuke's simple movements.

He looked away from his back and out of the window that rested on the other side of the room. Sasuke had an amazing view of the entire village from here. Naruto could see places that he hadn't seen yet with Sasuke. There were buildings and that reached farther up than what he remembered seeing on there way in. Trees surrounded the village off in the distance while the space around them was filled with electrical lines and large advertising billboards. All in all the place looked rather cluttered. Sasuke's balcony was the only placed that seemed high enough to offer a breath of fresh air. White puffy clouds drifted lazily in the sky, while the sun pierced through their fluffy layers and against the skin of every person outside. The plants and metal shimmered in the sunlight, while the smell of the market place was drifting throughout the majority of the town. Voices of children and workers sprung lose in a clash of uneven noise that seemed to hold a relaxing sensation within it. There was a light drift of air that gently played wind chimes, sending their melodic touch of metal into nearby windows.

"It's done." Sasuke's voice took hold of Naruto's attention, bringing his eyes towards the table and capturing the image of Sasuke tilting the pot and scraping rice out of it and onto a plate. Naruto blinked and then stood up, walking towards the table in an almost timidly manner. Sasuke set the pot down on a hot pad, and then retreated back into the kitchen for chopsticks and his drink.

He returned and took a seat at the table, nodding for Naruto to sit down as well. Naruto took his seat and stared down at the food he had placed in front of him. Sasuke handed him the chopsticks and then dug into the meal himself. After taking only a few bites, he looked up and noticed that Naruto hadn't touched his yet. "Does it look that bad to eat?"

"What is it?" Naruto responded looking down at it.

"Orange Chicken with white rice…" Sasuke responded, knowing he shouldn't feel hurt by his expression, but feeling so anyways.

"Hm." Naruto hummed, poking at the chicken with his food.

Sasuke looked at him and then down at his food. "I can make you something else if you don't want to eat it." He offered.

Naruto blinked. "I haven't even tried it yet."

"Well, you just look like it's unappealing. If you don't want to eat it, I can make you some noodles or something."

"Unawhat?" Naruto asked, ignoring his offer.

"Unappealing. Like it doesn't look good. I've got something else I can make you don't-"

"It doesn't look unappealy-er, whatever…" He poked at the food again. "It just smells strange…" Sasuke cocked an eyebrow then looked down at his food once again. It was a knock off food brand, yeah, but he didn't think it really tasted bad, or smelled funny for that fact. Still, he was curious as to what Naruto had meant, so he brought a scoopful towards his mouth and took in a whiff. He then looked up at Naruto, eyebrows scrunched together.

"What're you talking about?" He asked. Naruto still had an odd look on his face.

"I dunno, it just…smells weird to me. You don't smell it?" Sasuke again took another whiff, then shook his head. Naruto now looked like the confused one. "Maybe it's just me…" he poked the chicken once more, then scooped a little of it up and brought it to his mouth. Sasuke watched, maybe a bit more intently than he should have , as Naruto placed the food in his mouth and chewed it. He made yet another odd face, but it wasn't in disapproval…Although not in approval either.

"Is it…bad…?" Sasuke asked in fear for his cooking to be insulted.

Naruto seemed to have to think about it. "It…it tastes….wrong…."

Sasuke's face dropped. "So…You don't like it…?"

"No, I do…It just doesn't match…It doesn't taste the way it looks." Naruto concluded, taking in another mouthful.

Sasuke opened his mouth to say something but closed it. It would be best not to question his logic…

After they had finished their meal and Sasuke had finished the dishes. The two just laid around for a little. It was uncomfortably hot outside for Sasuke's taste and Naruto didn't bother protesting, so they stayed inside. Sasuke let out a relaxed sigh and turned over on his stomach, facing Naruto, who was lying on the ground. "You can come up here if you want."

Naruto looked up and shook his head. "Nah, I'm more comfortable on the ground."

"Oh, alright…" Sasuke mumbled. He was thinking that they would do a little bit more than laze around for some odd hours. His mind started thinking of possibilities they could do. They already ate, Naruto already explored his apartment and went through all of the TV channels-four times on his own decision, and there really wasn't a whole lot to do over his house. "What time do you want me to take you home?"

Naruto groaned having to think. He didn't want to leave at all, but he was also scared what would happen otherwise. For some reason, today he seemed to care less about consequences though. He seemed to care less about everything. His cerulean eyes locked with Sasuke's dark and empty ones. "I don't want to go home…" He half-mumbled.

Sasuke blinked. "Uh…" He wasn't quite sure what to say to that. Did he mean, not right now? Or maybe not until tomorrow? Or did he mean not at all?

"I…Once I started talking to you Sasuke, I've come to realize that I really don't like it there. It starts to make me feel…feel…" Naruto struggled with the word, moving his hands around as if they could capture it when it came drifting by.

"Depressed…?" Sasuke guessed. Naruto looked up at him, not sure what he had said. "Down? Just sad? Like you really don't want to be there, or you just feel…kinda like crying..?"

Naruto let his hands drop. "Yeah…"He murmured. Sasuke looked off to the side. He wondered if that could possibly just be coincidence. "But, at the same time…" Naruto thought a moment before saying what he was going to say. "You make me feel sick when I think about you."

Sasuke suddenly felt hurt. He made him feel sick…? Was he aggravating to Naruto…? "Sick…?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah…and it gets worse when we actually see each other…It makes me feel like I'm going to throw up or something….and the you'll cause my heart to just …I don't know…burst or something…?"

Sasuke felt his face redden slightly, realizing what it was Naruto had meant. He shook his head and then rubbed his face. Did he have any idea what it was he was saying? Sasuke thought about that and then looked up. Obviously, he didn't. "Naruto…" Naruto glanced up at him to find him pushing himself off of the bed and onto the floor in front of him. "Do you know what….love is?" Naruto shook his head. "Affection? The desire to make someone feel good just because you want them to feel good?" Again, Naruto shook his head."Well…that's what you're feeling…"

"Affection?" Sasuke shook his head.

"Well, affection is something you can give or receive. You're giving affection, technically. Love's…love's pointless, honestly…" Sasuke mumbled thinking back on things. "You can't live with it, you can't live without it though…"

Naruto continued to stare at Sasuke in confusion. Whatever it was he was talking about, made no sense to him. Sasuke looked over at Naruto. He felt guilty in a way. He didn't mean to make Naruto feel that way and he knew it would drive him insane if Sasuke wouldn't return the feelings. He just…Never found guys attractive. Or girls for that matter…

He thought a moment before deciding on what he would do. He just…kinda wanted to know how Naruto would react to contact, so he took Naruto's face in his hands and brought their lips together. Sasuke himself was rather curious as to what it would feel like and perhaps thought on it a little more than he should've while doing so. Naruto didn't seem to react at all, or rather, didn't know how to react. The kiss was just a peck and nothing else. When Sasuke pulled away, it seemed to have hit him what it was he had done. Not only had he just kissed another guy, but he had also…found it somewhat plain...It didn't seem to live up to his expectations and felt just…ordinary.

Naruto blinked. He stared at Sasuke blankly and then swallowed. Sasuke looked down. "I guess you could say that was affection…"

Naruto continued to stare. "…Why…" He had to start over and collect his thoughts. "Why is that affection…?"

Sasuke thought a moment and then shrugged. "I'm…not exactly sure…People just do it."

"Why do they only do that? It seems…strange…"

Sasuke shook his head. "There's more than that…but were not gonna get into it right now." He stood up and looked over at his clock. Tomorrow was Thursday. That was his only day off for the week so it meant he could spend some time with the kid. "You want to just stay the night, since you don't want to go home and all that?"

Naruto blinked. "You mean….like sleep over here?"Sasuke nodded. Naruto shrugged. It's not like he was going to hurt Sasuke or anything. Sasuke smiled, satisfied with the answer.

"I'll pull out an extra blanket for you." He got up and walked over to his closet, reaching in and grabbing at first a thick blanket, but then remembering how hot it was today and grabbed a thinner one. He returned with it and then set it on the bed. Sasuke looked at the clock for a second time and then at Naruto. "Might as well get some sleep now."

CHAPTER SIX FINISH


	7. Chapter 7

Alright, onto chapter seven! Thank you to Shounen-Ai and Kooleko22 for all the reviews and Im terribly sorry for how long ti took to get another chapter up here. The cord to my writing source broke and meh laptop cant charge now so I have to moch off of library computers. I wish I could've mad e this chapter longer but, figured I needed to get something up here while I can. Major confusion might result from this chapter, but I promise it will be explained :] R+F

_ Red…Mixtures of burning colors swerving round and round into the shape of a beast. There beside the fire a few men stood, allowing the flames to eat up everything around it. Screaming, clawing, the fire spun and attacked what was there. It groaned and begged, screamed and thrashed, burned and destroyed, all while such a tranquil audience stood and watched. Watched as this calamity spread faster than should be allowed._

_ Blue…Merged colors of serene swishing back and fourth. Holding within their hands the power to tame the beast in front on them. Should it dare get involved? Should it dare stop its creation? Consequences blazed in front of its composed self. Shivering on the inside, smooth as water on the surface. Reaching out a hand, it could smother such an inferno, or be engulfed entirely by it. Such words were not to be thought…_

"AGGHHH! AH-HH!" Sharp pain, so much pain. Such a teasing warmth spilling out and wrapping around the skin. Pointed teeth maybe sinking into the shoulder. Growling and purrs, screams and pain. This couldn't actually be happening could it? This was just another one of those weird dreams again. He wasn't actually being torn apart right now was he? His eyes were covered with darkness, but he could feel it, he could smell it. The smell of thick and sweet blood that teased the endurance of his stomach. His throat, he could feel it when he swallowed, he could feel it when he screamed. "AGHHH! A-!"

Sasuke felt his body be pulled onto his side. His eyes shot open and locked with the bloodlust filled red ones inches away from his face. He really wasn't dreaming, all of this pain, all of this blood, it was all real and it was all his. His thoughts were so jumbled and mixed; he couldn't comprehend what it was that was happening. His scared eyes stared wildly at the pointed and stained fangs that allowed such a hot breath to run down his neck. Such long nails that sunk deeply into his skin. His nerves stood on end, running into spasms of pain with every pulse. He held his breath with the next rip of pain and seemed to have forgotten how to release it. "Ahhhh…" Sasuke breathed. He had to get out of this pain, out of this torture…

He tried to move his arm, but felt nothing. This wasn't Naruto…This couldn't be, not the blonde he had just fallen asleep next to. Naruto… Naruto wasn't, he wasn't this kind of person… Sasuke blinked and tried to take in what was happening, to think clearly. "Na-naru-…" Sasuke realized now how heavily his breathing was, how much the weight on top of him was crushing him. He realized this just as his eyes began to go fuzzy. His vision began to darken, and his thoughts became even more jumbled. He blinked once, before his conscious slipped away from him.

Blackness fuzzed Sasuke's mind as it brought itself back into reality. There was a beeping noise that made his head pound and such a bright light that burned his eyes when he opened them. His mind was blank yet confused. His body felt numb. Where in the hell was he?

He blinked, trying to bring thought to his empty conscious, but just found himself staring at the white tiles above him. He never had white tiles in his house before… Sasuke then realized that there was a tube injected into his left arm, and also recognized the beeping as a heart monitor. He was in the hospital.

"Hey, you're awake…" Sasuke turned his head to find Sakura sitting there with a relieved, yet stressed look on her face. "Sasuke, what in the world happened to you? You're cut up all over…" Sasuke stared blankly at her, feeling too weak to even respond. Her face dropped a bit. "Sasuke…I-it's not what they've been talking about, is it? Please tell me that's not why you're in here…"

He scrunched his eyebrows together, staring at her questioningly. "Huh…?" Sakura looked down.

"I-it's not…They said that the most likely reason…Why you're like this is because…" She choked trying to finish her words. "They said it was a bad effect of PCP."

Sasuke would've shot up right then and yelled otherwise, but he just couldn't move, he would've shouted at her, but his voice wouldn't come. All he could was stare at her. Sakura didn't know how to take it, she bit her lip and turned away. "W-why would you…?"

"S-sakura I don't…" Sasuke struggled to tell her, but his voice cracked. He tried to clear it but it hurt. What in the hell did happen to him? He lifted his arm and went to bring it to his throat, but stopped once his eyes locked with the marks all along his pale skin. His eyes widened. He flipped his arm over and followed the mark all around it. Sakura watched him as he saw his wounds for the first time. In a moment, memories of the blood thirsty demon he had encountered flashed into his mind. "Na…." Sasuke then managed to find some energy in his body to at least sit up. In doing so, his body made it clear to him that it wasn't just his arms that had been ripped at.

"Sasuke! You shouldn't be getting up!" Sakura proclaimed, standing up, prepared to help if anything had happened.

Sasuke let out a breath and then turned to Sakura. "How long have I been in here…?"

"Huh?" Sakura blinked, then thought about it. "W-well…about a week or so."

Sasuke thought for a moment. It's been a week and his wounds still felt fresh… "Sakura…I appreciate you coming here…" Sakura smiled slightly to herself, almost timidly nodding towards him. "And I promise you that it wasn't PCP, I don't do that kind of stuff."

"But, if it wasn't that then…" She paused for a moment. "What exactly was it that caused this?"

"I…don't really remember…" Sasuke spoke truthfully, leaving out the involvement of Naruto. "It wasn't from drugs though…"

"That's…" Sakura dropped slightly sighing. "Sasuke…the doctors were talking about transferring you to a mental facility…"

"Mental…?" Sasuke repeated.

"Yeah, some people were asked about your behavior lately and they say you've been acting…well crazy. Some people at your work said they caught you talking to yourself, and your random outbursts were getting suspicious. You were too damaged for the doctors to sample anything and try to find any traces of any drug so they're going on all on assumption." Sakura explained. "Right now, they're waiting on the approval of your boss for them to put you in there…."

Sasuke blinked, completely taken aback by what she said. "Talking…? When was I talking to myself? And since when can my boss decide if I should go into a mental facility?"

Sakura gazed up at him and swallowed down a lump in her throat. "He's the closest thing to a guardian you have…" She turned away. "And as for the whole 'talking to yourself' thing… People said you kept referring to them as 'Kiba'. The doctors said that it wasn't unlikely for you to have developed an imagin-"

"Kiba…?" Sasuke blinked. "Kiba…? Y-you're saying that…" He stopped for a minute and tried to gather his thoughts. "Kiba isn't a real person?" Sakura shook her head almost unsure of herself. "But…He works with me… he helped me with all of those loads…"

"Sasuke…" Sakura reached out and rested her hand on his shoulder. "There isn't any Kiba at your work… You're the youngest one there…"

"I've…I've known him since I was little though. He always played at the park, and always wanted a dog…" Sasuke trailed off thinking to more to himself.

"Sasuke…The doctors…They said that 'kiba' was a result of the trauma you experienced back when you were little… It's not a bad thing, really. Maybe going to the mental-"

"This can't be happening to me…" Sasuke cut her off, rubbing his hands over his face. "How could I have been imagining all of that for the past ten years? I-I don't…Is Naruto not real either?"

Sakura's face dropped slightly. "You're talking about… that blonde kid, right?" Sasuke nodded. "…No…He's real…"

"But that demon…? That thing?" Sasuke felt now that he couldn't trust anything he was thinking. Was Sakura a figment of his imagination as well?

"Demon…?" Sakura looked at him confused. "Sasuke… Naruto…he's…different, yeah. But I doubt that there's really a demon…"

Sasuke suddenly felt angered by all of his confusion. "But what about before!? You-you were terrified of him when he broke your wrist! You were scared because of that demon thing, right?!"

"Sasuke, I was scared because of who he was, not the stories behind him. That kid isn't normal, he's not right. He's killed people before and its scared me that you were with him." Sakura said.

Sasuke shook his head. "You're lying… No, you said before…The story…That's what you told me…"

"Sasuke…please, you're really worrying me…" Sakura pleaded. "I just wanted you to stay away from him. He's supposed to be under lock-down by the government. They've been giving him medication to try and take care of his faulty, so it's not so big a deal that he leaves, it's just…well it scared me you were with him…"

Sasuke grabbed his head and went quiet, trying to let this all soak in. He was so confused now, way more than he ever was. "…leave…"

"Sasuke…?" Sakura mumbled.

"Go, leave me alone…" He told her again.

"Sasuke, nevermind what I said, I shouldn't have piled this on you all at-"

"Go! Now." Sasuke demanded turning to her. She stared at him worried and shocked, but obliged to his request. Standing up and walking towards the door she sighed and turned to him one last time.

"...Please forgive me…" She said, then walked out.

Sasuke stared at the door after her before grabbing his head, frustrated with his thoughts. A mental facility…He was about to get put in rehab…Rehab…


	8. Chapter 8

Sasuke gasped for air, his heart pounding and mind buzzing. His legs carried his body faster and faster through where ever it was he had ended up. Finally, when he thought he couldn't run anymore, he tripped over something and fell, stopping him from what felt like an eternity of just running away. He huffed in as much air as his lungs would take and then repeated the process after letting it out in a short breath. He didn't really just do that did he? Sasuke wouldn't have it in him to do something like that. He was too scared to ever bring himself to running away.

After finally catching his breath, Sasuke sat up and stared back at the trail he had come from, well the one visible in his mind at least… He brushed dirt off of him before letting out a deep breath and standing up. That…Had to of been the most ridiculous thing he's ever done in his life…

He couldn't believe that he just broke out of the hospital. The thought drifted in his mind for a long while as his eyes stared upward at the sky. His body still ached and burned from all the injuries he still had on him as well as new ones he had created from running around. His chest lifted and fell in big gasps, as his heart thudded from the adrenaline that pulsed through his veins. Sasuke's hair was in a mess, a few twigs poking out of in awkward places. He took in a deep breath and then found it in himself to actually sit up. Moving his body upward he closed his eyes for a moment and brought his shaky hands up to his face and massaged his sockets. Maybe…he really had turned into a maniac… Normal him wouldn't have done anything near this, but at the same time, with the threat of rehab it felt like he didn't have much of a choice.

Three or four days ago Sasuke came to the conclusion of breaking out after overhearing the doctors talking about where to transfer him. He didn't care much about it until the word "erase" kept popping up. "Erase him" "Erase his records" "Erase his things" It began to make him paranoid. His boss had even stopped by to visit him once or twice but in that time Sasuke hadn't said a word to him. He started to loath him for even considering of signing his own life away to a mental facility. After the third visit, his boss straight up told him the situation and how he didn't want to be the one to put him in such a place but due to lawsuits that could have been held against him he didn't seem to have a choice. They finally announced a date for Sasuke to be transferred and in that panic, he worked out a plan to get out of there. The more he thought on it though, the harder it was to think of a plan out. Most of Sasuke's ideas were so badly made he really thought there was no way he could ever get out. It wasn't until a visit from an "old friend" brought out the perfect plan. He found it rather ironic that it was his own "illness" that pulled him free from that place. Though he knew he was freed from control, he couldn't help but feel like he had nothing now. Sasuke's belongings were now to just sit in his apartment, while his food rotted away and his position at work was given to someone else. Money wouldn't matter to him anymore and neither would things like socializing and even hygiene to an extent.

Sasuke pulled his hands away from his face in a deep sigh, not knowing what to do now. He was out of the village so he was no longer their issue. They wouldn't search for him out here, they'd just assume that he wasn't their problem anymore and that it wouldn't be long before the wilderness would kill him. He knew that he would never be allowed back in once he left, but would he have ever been let out of that hell hole of a facility had he let them transfer him? Sasuke didn't even want to imagine that scene. His thoughts had just been in a drifted manner, not processing anything correctly. He'd think about getting up for work randomly and then think about buying food, but the thing that crossed his mind the most were the marks that scarred his once flawless skin. His back had burned and burned for days, sometimes becoming so unbearable he'd find himself in a bawled up position, or scratching at the misery like it'd somehow stop. The idea of even trying to go and take life up with Naruto crossed his mind, but their was no doubt that they'd question Sakura about his whereabouts and no doubt that she'd mention Naruto to them. He found himself in guilt knowing that it wouldn't be long before Naruto would be taken care of. There was also the idea that they'd just leave him be as well, which is why Sasuke felt like he had to do what he planned to do next.

"I told you this plan would work…" A voice spoke out to him. Sasuke ignored it, like he had always been doing every time he heard it. He found himself with such an unbearable headache and wished he knew a way to block out the man that would never leave him alone. "Sure you lost a lot of shit but at least you still got your own thoughts right?"

"Not if you're here…" Sasuke felt himself say. It was hard not to respond to the only form of conversation he knew he'd be having for a long time.

"Pfft..I don't know why you're being such an asshole to me, what'd I ever do to you?"

"What do you mean 'What'd I ever do to you?' If it weren't for you I wouldn't be in this mess!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"How is this whole mess MY fault? I didn't do anything to you! I've done nothing but help you out and screw my own life over with yours!" Kiba yelled.

"Your life? What life did you ever have?" Sasuke asked.

"Uh, the one I have now maybe?" Kiba responded. "You've been acting like I don't exist and it's pissing me off! I've done nothing but try to help you and you ignore me."

"That's because you DON'T exist! You're not real! You're not there!" Sasuke found himself frustrated, grabbing his hair and wanting to turn and kick this Kiba that wouldn't leave him alone. Kiba was quiet for a long moment, giving Sasuke the hopes that he had finally disappeared, only to hear his voice again.

"Tsk, maybe I should've let them take you into that mental facility…." He mumbled. Sasuke turned his head in fury, expecting his eyes to take in the image of the tan boy only to find nothing but the forest around him. He let out a frustrated yell and took his furry out on the ground by punching it.

God did he hate his life right now… He hated his mind and he hated how everything had turned out. Everything had been normal for the longest time, normal up until he had stumbled upon that blond. That damn fucking blond! Sasuke groaned and then threw himself onto the ground. What the hell was he going to do with himself now? He still planned to go and check on things, but at the same time, he felt like he shouldn't even bother with it. Why should he care anyways? Naruto wasn't his problem.

A tingle of fiery pain pulsated through him, the birth spot being his back. He groaned and let out a breath, not bothering to touch it. That was what he needed to see Naruto for. He needed to get a fucking explanation out of him and get him do something about it.

Sasuke rolled over on his side and then pushed himself off the ground, having a hard time regaining balance after that sprint he had. Once he did so, he wasn't even sure where he was heading, he just knew he was moving. Sasuke's mind and body were both heavy with the thought of possible sleep, but he felt like it was too risky to pass out so soon. He knew he had to find some safe place to pass out otherwise he might wake up to find half his body chewed up by all the animals out here.

After walking for what felt like forever, Sasuke found his eyes locked onto a specific bush for awhile. It seemed to have been set up all too perfectly as a resting spot. His eyes were fixated on it for a long moment before he tore his gaze away and looked around. Something spooked him about that spot so he continued walking. The scenery around him all looked the same after that, the trees all the same tones of green and brown and the small patches of flowers all the same colors. His fingers were freezing and his back burning, not to mention how weak his legs were. Still he continued walking, telling himself that if he stopped any time soon, he'd be hunted down by those nurses or someone and brought back to that damn hospital. Eventually though, sleep finally seemed to kick in and wear his body down. He rubbed his eyes and let out a yawn before groaning and looking around. His own room would be the best thing in the world right about now. Looking around, his eyes landed on a bush…and he stopped. He rubbed his eye again and realized it was the same one he had passed earlier. He did the same motions as he had when he previously stumbled upon it and then motioned towards it. After checking it thoroughly for a long moment he concluded that there wasn't anything wrong with it… lying down he felt slightly aggravated that he had wound up going into a complete circle. Sasuke didn't have much time to think on it though, the sleep taking hold of his consciousness almost immediately.

Through his sleep, images of random events flooded his mind. Some he'd probably remember after he awoke and some that he'd forget before the dream was even over. His mind seemed to be filing his thoughts out, going through memories and organizing them. It wasn't until images of one of his trips to Naruto's did his consciousness slowly began to wake. It was when he went there with Kiba and had tried to explain to him who Naruto was. To this thought, the image of Naruto and Kiba talking flashed in his mind, his eyes shooting open to this. He sat up immediately and thought the day over, the conversations over, the interactions over. "Naruto…could see Kiba…" He mumbled to himself. Sasuke ignored the cramps he had received from his sleep on the dirt ground and grabbed the side of his head. "Naruto…talked to Kiba…" Sakura said Kiba wasn't real…and said Naruto was… Was she lying about Kiba? But he disappeared just earli- er or yesterday… Nothing in his life made sense anymore…


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Sorry for the extremely LOOONG hiatus I went on. I'm trying to get some stuff done in this story while I still can upload things so this chapter and the previous one were a bit rushed. I am not making up nonsense, I swear it will get explained xD Soon hopefully...Just need to keep writing in it. R+F

* * *

"Grahh!" Sasuke screamed after furiously as he slammed his fist into a tree, the same tree that he had passed just an hour or so ago, and had continued to pass for the previous hours, perhaps the tree that he would continue to pass if he didn't figure something out. He took in a breath as he leaned forward onto the tree. He felt like he had been searching this damn forest for days and found himself only lost. He was hungry and dirty and wished more than anything to be able to go home and take one god damn blissful shower. Sasuke took in a deep breath and released it, calming himself down. He got stupid when he got angry, and being stupid was not what he needed to be right now. After a long moment of "calming" time, he looked forward at where he thought he went last time. Before when that happened he went a different way and ended up back here, this time, he figured he'd go that way, and continue that way until he found himself somewhere else, _any_where else.

After a long moment of just walking he stopped to look around, trying to remember any specific trees or dirt markings he had made. If he saw any, then he knew he was going the wrong way, if he didn't, then finally he might be able to get somewhere. Letting his eyes wander for a bit, his ears perked up when he heard a form of rustling coming from behind him. Keeping still he listened harder, trying to tell the difference between movement and the wind, just as a twig snapped. In that split second Sasuke didn't bother in thinking on anything and just found himself sprinting. Running and running further, thinking a million different thoughts on what that sound could've been. His first thoughts were that it was a large animal, his next thought going into it possibly being the hospital nurses or government officials looking for him, and finally, just some random wild person living out here.

Sasuke finally stopped after realizing he had long run out of breath awhile ago and leaned forward on his knees to take in breaths. He felt safer now, he hoped he was safer now at least. It was probably just an animal…that had to be it, not any of those crazy thoughts he had earlier. This had to of been the stupidest choice he had ever made in his life..

Sasuke continued throwing thoughts at himself as he forced his body to keep moving. The one good thing that had come out of that panic was that he finally got out of his endless circle of a repeating path. Even though he had sprinted around for a good while, he could still feel eyes on him, still feel another presence on him. Just as Sasuke was thinking these thoughts another rustling noise grabbed his attention, but not quick enough. Sasuke was tackled to the ground by the maker of the rustling and son found a sharp dagger against his throat.

When did he go from being the average working teen, to an insane one, to an insane one that was about to get killed by a jungle man? God this was too messed up for him, way too messed up. "Up." The man commanded to Sasuke as he kept the dagger to his throat, but gave him enough freedom to stand up. Sasuke had to think a moment before his mind registered the command. He pushed himself up off the ground and held his hands up as if he was being arrested. Sasuke's back was to the man, so he had no idea what he looked like. He didn't know if this was someone living off the forest or someone that had come to retrieve him back so he could be "deleted". The man felt up his body quickly, as if searching for something of any use, and then spun Sasuke around to be examined further. Just as their eyes locked, Sasuke's heart just sank. His mind froze, his body shook and his heart just seemed to have stopped. This had finally proven it. Sasuke was crazy, he really was. He did loose his mind, and right now, his mind was just putting together random events of his life and throwing people out in front of him. There wasn't really a dagger to his neck, no, it wasn't really there, it was probably just a tree branch or something, and this person in front of him, no, it wasn't a person it was just a tree trunk maybe? He had just tripped over something, that's why it felt like someone tackled him.

In Sasuke's absolute shock, he began laughing nervously, pointing a finger at the man and then mumbling things before going instantly weak and passing out.

* * *

When Sasuke finally woke up from his unconscious state, he was surprised to be met with a night sky…and to hear fire crackling by him. The smell of the burning wood woke him up quicker.

He groaned, pushing himself up rubbing his eyes.

"….Why are you out here…?" Sasuke turned his head to be met with the man that caused his unconsciousness. He stared for a moment, still not quite believing who he was seeing. The question didn't register in his mind for a while and when it did, he didn't answer it. Instead, he felt a sudden anger burst out of him.

"Why am I out here? Shouldn't I be asking YOU that!" Sasuke yelled to the almost stranger. He wasn't sure what to think now, or actually, he wasn't sure what to think at all anymore. It had just been one big thing after another, after another. This could've been thrown at him maybe a few months ahead of time, but no, it all has to come crashing down on him at once.

The man didn't respond for a moment, and when he did, he only seemed to repeat the question, just with different words. "On the contrary, being out here, you of all people I used to know, are the absolute last person I'd think of seeing. So I should be asking you."

Sasuke stared for a long moment, the fire bright, but not bright enough reveal the details of the person's figure. He let out a sigh before turning to the side and burying his hands in his face. "I…I don't know… It's so complicated I don't even know where to start…"

"…" A small breeze whipped past them, causing the fire to flicker on about in confusion. "…Obviously, I can tell nothing from it is a good story…"

Sasuke laughed to the statement. He didn't even care anymore if this was just his mind playing tricks on him. It somehow got him a fire, and somehow reunited him with someone he lost long ago. He turned his head again to try and see more of the main, only to see small movement. "…Seriously though…Why are you out here…? Why'd you leave?"

The talking shadow chuckled before letting out a breath. "You're so abnormally calm about this reunion."

"If that's what you want to call this then…" Sasuke shrugged. "Am I gonna find Ma and Dad running around here too?" It was a terrible joke, but he felt like he couldn't have thought of anything better to say.

"…No…They…" Sasuke found his eyes looking into the fire, watching as the wood burned and darkened. "Were deleted…"

His eyes then looked up to the man, confused with his choice of words. "Deleted?" he repeated. "You mean killed?"

He chuckled in response and then spoke again. "We have a lot to talk about…They were 'deleted'…'erased'…In the type of world we live in there is no such thing as killing. Killing is the definition of one man ending another's life. How can someone be killed if they're not killed by a man?"

Sasuke was completely confused by what he was saying. "You're…loosing me…I don't get it, Itachi…"


	10. Author Note

**A/N:**

That's all this is. No real update, sorry to dissapoint.

I'm posting this to let you know that I do not plan to never finish this series, it's just..been a major PAIN IN THE ASS.

For my long lame excuse, read the italics. For my short excuse, skip it and go to the bold.

_So, other the time that I've started this wonderful story, a lot of computer problems happened. The first, was a virus that nearly destroyed my computer, and after struggling for SO LONG, I finally got it up and going again, but had to sacrifice all of my documents, this story, being one of them. So after awhile, I finally got myself to update this story [I believe it was the second to last update before this one] having to re-write what I lost after the virus. After that happened, I tried to keep the updates going, but then the memory to the computer was full and blocked out anything and everything, only showing "THE BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH" when turned on. Again, the memory had to be wiped clear off that computer, and needed more memory as well. Once again, I lost what I had written in the story that hadn't been posted up here. At some point, I finally got myself to start re-writing things again, but~! Got a new computer. So in transferring the story from old computer to new one, my flash drive broke. Yeah, yeah I should've been smart enough to NOT delete it off the old computer after it was on the flash drive, but. Oh well. Another way of wording these wonderful events?_

**This story hates me.**

But~! If any of you users that have this story on alerts, or favorite, and are still alive, I'm letting you know that I really don't think it's fair to write this far into the story, and confuse the hell out of most, if not all, of you and then never give an explanation. I'm so close to it that I'd be ashamed of myself if I couldn't finish this...

I'm terrified of going back and re-reading it though...Feel like I'll cringe at the writing..

Oh well. Sorry to get anyones hopes up only to realize that this was just the author's ramblings.

I don't know when the next update for this story will be, for I'm currently working on another one, and have migrated from the Naruto fandom to Durrr! But I do promise, there will be updates.

Eventually.


End file.
